


Remember Me (For Centuries)

by aForgottenWeasley



Category: Supernatural, The Walking Dead (TV)
Genre: Action/Adventure, Character Death Fix, Fix-It, Gen, Male-Female Friendship, no actual romantic relationships
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-05-13
Updated: 2015-10-26
Packaged: 2018-03-30 09:48:22
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 15
Words: 55,374
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3932263
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/aForgottenWeasley/pseuds/aForgottenWeasley
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Before getting her own little slice of Heaven, Beth Greene is given a choice to either finally be at peace or help save the world. And given that her sister & friends are still fightin' the good fight, well her decision is easily made. But to help fight against monsters & demons she now knows exists, Beth's sent down with a little extra something to even the playing field.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> So this is my first for The Walking Dead and Supernatural so don't be too harsh if I muck things up. Obviously, this will take place seconds after Beth's death and then from there I'll just make things up as I go.
> 
> As for the Winchesters, Sam is in his late twenties and Dean his early thirties. The brothers have been through a lot- although Dean bears no mark of Cain and Heaven closed it's doors the second Lucifer broke free of his cage (yes, I made Lucifer break free)- and they're just trying to survive like everyone else.
> 
> If you have any questions, feel free to ask. Otherwise, enjoy!

**BANG!**

Beth Greene was taught to believe that when her time had come, she'd be led through a darkened tunnel with a bright light at the end of it until she was standing just outside of Heaven's Gate to be let in and reunited with her dearly departed. However, that was not the case.

One second, she was staring down Dawn with defiance and hatred that she'd never felt before in her life and the next.. nothing. It was like all her senses ceased to exist all together and she was thrown into a black void. There was no light at the end of the tunnel and there were no pearly gates that led into Heaven itself.

 _But why?_ she had wondered.  _Hadn't I lived the life I was meant to? What did I do wrong?_

She can't figure out the answer as to why she's stuck-  _was this Hell?-_ and after what seemed like an eternity of darkness, she is granted movement. She flexes her fingers, rolls her shoulders, and takes a step forward. The black void goes on forever and no matter how many times she blinks or rubs at her eyes- it remains black.

Beth wants to cry, to scream out but she just doesn't have the strength to do so. So instead, she just keeps on walking into nothingness.

* * *

It seems like she walks for days on end- walking without a way to see where she's going or if she's going in the right direction or if she's even going anywhere at all. She doesn't get tired nor is she hungry but she just wants all of this to stop. If she can't be with her family in Heaven or the Lord himself, well then she'd rather be back on earth where it seemed as if Hell on earth was happening.

As soon as that thought filters through her mind, Beth is blinded by the sudden white light that floods her senses. Eyes clamp shut against the harshness of it and instead of opening her eyes, she waits until the light fades behind closed lids. When she feels it's safe enough, she opens her eyes only to find herself in a place that appears to be untouched by the virus of the dead.

Freshly cut green grass stretches on for miles all around her, and trees full of lush leaves sway in a gentle breeze. The sky is a shade of blue she hasn't seen in a very long time- dotted with a few clouds as sun shines down warmly- and birds chirp happily as they jump from branch to branch.

A smile breaks out across Beth's face, she stretching her arms out at her side as she looks upward and lets the sun warm her skin. And when she finally chances a look at her own body, she realizes that she is just as untouched as this place is. Her skin is as clean as can be- and as pale as she had last remembered it- and her usual bracelets adorn her left wrist. Her brown boots are in mint condition and the gray fitted jeans tucked into said boots have not one stain or tear in them. Instead of the yellow collared shirt that she remembered wearing last, she now wears a black sleeveless tank with its hemline that falls to her hips and when her hands lift up towards her hair, there is not one tangle in it. Instead, she realizes that her hair is up in its usual ponytail with her bangs loose and framing her face, curling beneath her chin.

A chuckle finally escapes her lips as she twirls, eyes closing again as she relishes in the beauty of where she's at. Even as she comes to a stand-still, her eyes remain closed to just cherish the moment.

"You're as beautiful as I last remembered," a very familiar voice calls out- a voice which has Beth's eyes immediately snapping open and tearing up at the sight before her. "Although, I had hoped it'd still be a long while before I saw you again."

"Daddy?"

"Hello, sweetheart."

Hershel Green stands about ten yards from her, a foot propped up on a railing of the white gazebo he stands in. He's clean shaven and smiling, his white hair no longer long enough to be put in a ponytail as she had last remembered. Although, he's still wearing the jeans and white long-sleeve with suspenders that she remembered all too well from their life on the run.

Beth wastes no time in running to him, he smiling and chuckling as she tackles him in a hug. "I've missed you so, so much!"

Her arms immediately go around his waist as she lays her head over his heart, Hershel chuckling as he lays his cheek atop her head. "And I missed you. We all missed you, sweetheart."

"We?" she asks, pulling back slightly from the hug so she can stare her father in the eyes. "So I am in Heaven?"

"Yes.. and no," he tells her. Beth's smile falters and Hershel feels his heart ache for what he has to tell her soon. "Heaven is- it's not just one, Beth. There are literally billions of Heavens up here- every person having their own little slice of it, and it's up to the individual soul to mould it to their liking. But if you wish to spend time with someone, all you have to do is think about them and follow the path to their Heaven. It's really something else up here- a lot more than what we thought and it's so beautiful, sweetheart."

Beth brightens up once more, gaze then moving to the lush green and sunny scenery around them. "Then where's Momma and the others? Why aren't they here?"

Hershel's brief moment of silence has Beth suddenly feeling wary- even more so when she finally meets her father's gaze once more. He's smiling down at her though she can see the sadness within his eyes and before she can ask what's wrong, he's gesturing to the bench a few yards away from the gazebo they're standing in. "Come along, Beth. There's something I need to speak with you about."

She follows him to a white wooden bench, the both of them taking a seat just as Hershel reaches for one of her hands and grasps it between both of his. "Daddy, what's wrong?"

She can see him smiling even as his head is tilted downward to stare at their hands, and when he glances up, she sees his eyes filled with unshed tears. "You have a decision to make, sweetheart, and I'm afraid it's not going to be an easy one."

"A decision? A decision about what?"

"Well, you can either stay here in Heaven with your mother and I or you can return to Earth to help Maggie and the others right the world to what it once was."

Beth blinks rather owlishly at her father, her heart picking up speed at the words that just came from his mouth. "But I d-died, daddy. There is no going back. And Mr. Grimes said there was no cure. The man from the CDC told him that, remember?"

And shaking his head sadly, Hershel tells her just how it is all possible. "There's a lot more going on that we were blind to. Being up here in Heaven, it's obvious that He is real. So if He's real, angels and demons are real, as well as every monster that children are told about to keep them in bed at night and around campfires to keep them spooked. It's all real, Beth."

By now, Beth's heart is hammering. "Why are you telling me this?" she asks meekly, not bothering to doubt her father's words.

"Because you need to know what you're getting into if you decide to help," he admits. Letting go of her hand, Hershel fidgets in place until his hand reaches into his pant pocket, his hand wrapping around something that he doesn't show her just yet when he holds his hand before her once more. "If you return to earth, you're not going down empty-handed."

Palm then opening, Beth glances down at a small corked vial- a blue, nearly white ethereal substance floating about on the inside. "What is that?"

"An angel's grace." Beth gasps, glancing up at her father only to see him smiling. "He has granted you this- He's chosen to make you an angel but only should you return." Hershel pauses, closing his hand around the vial when Beth reaches out to touch it. "You should also know that with this grace comes a very important mission."

"Righting the world?" she guesses.

"Yes.. but the group alone won't be able to do it, Beth. You're going to need help and that help comes in the form of Dean and Sam Winchester, and a fallen angel by the name of Castiel."

"Who are Sam and Dean?"

"That's a question for somebody else to answer, sweetheart. I'm afraid I'm going to need your answer right now on what you want to do."

"Right now?! But I just got here, daddy! I want to see momma and the others."

"I know you do but seeing them will only make the decision that much harder, Beth. It has to be this way. I'm truly sorry."

Beth is completely torn, eyes shimmering with tears that she refuses to let fall. Her mind is telling her to stay- she fought as hard and as long as she could- and this was her prize for doing so. But her heart- her heart wants to be there for her sister and the group that had become a part of her family when the virus took over the world. She doesn't know what to do and she knows she has very little time to answer but as her mind replays everything her father's told her, she realizes something.  _He_  wants her to do this seeing as He chose to make her an angel for the mission and if He wants her to do this, well then she's going to keep her faith strong and continue to serve Him no matter what.

"I'll do it."

Hershel practically beams at her decision even though he had seemed he didn't want her to leave, but the heartwarming hug Beth suddenly finds herself a part of is very telling. "I'm so proud of you, darling. You're going to accomplish great things; I just know it." When he pulls out of the embrace, he stands and tugs on her hand to follow. Passing the vial of grace into her hand, Hershel then places both hands on her shoulders and catches her gaze. "Since I've been up here, we've all been keeping an eye out on you and Maggie. We're so proud of the young women you've become, honey."

"Daddy-" Beth chokes out, one tear finally falling and starting a chain reaction as the others flow down her cheeks.

"Now you listen and you listen well." Beth sniffles some though she sucks it up to listen to him. "The next time I see you, it better because you're ready to come back and you have wonderful stories about your adventures to tell us."

"I will, I promise," she says as she gives him a watery chuckle.

Hershel hums and once again, the father and daughter are clutching each other in a hug. "I love you, sweetheart."

"And I love you, daddy," she cries freely now once she realizes this is goodbye.

One moment Hershel's there and the next, he vanishes.

Beth's chest heaves with sobs, her arms falling to her side when she feels nothing but air in front of her. Her fingers clench around the glass vial in her right hand- she then bringing up her hand to stare down at the vial while wiping away her tears with her other hand. Once she's calm enough and her face is dry, she wonders just what exactly she is to do with this grace of hers.

"In all my years, I've never seen one's grace bottled up until today." Beth startles at the partially deep feminine voice, head snapping up to find an elder woman standing in the middle of the field before her. "You must be Beth Greene; I'm Ellen Harvelle. It's nice to meet you." The woman is smiling kindly, brunette hair framing her face. A blue plaid shirt lays unbuttoned atop a light blue tee, jeans cling to her legs, and boots adorn her feet. Thumbs hooked in the front pockets of said jeans, Ellen's smile widens. "Well, come on down here, girl. I'm not gonna bite. You have a world to return to and save."

Beth seems hesitant to approach the woman but upon realizing that this is a part of Heaven she's in, well then this woman couldn't be all that dangerous and approaches Ellen with thinly veiled curiosity. "Are you the one who's supposed to tell me who the Winchesters are?"

"That and so much more," she answers with sparkling eyes. "What did your father tell you 'bout the boys?"

"N-nothing much," Beth stammers. "Just that I'm supposed to help them right the world- a world that supposedly has monsters in it though I'm not sure what monsters have to do with riddin' the world of walkers."

"Monsters have everything to do with your mission, Beth." The blonde's brows pull together in confusion and Ellen sighs out sadly before explaining. "The Winchesters- they're Hunters. Not hunters that hunt animals but hunters that hunt the supernatural. Ghosts, demons, werewolves, vampires.. you name the monster, they hunt it. In your mission to put Lucifer back in his cage and rid the world of walkers, as you called them, every demon and monster is going to make sure you fail."

"W-what?!"

"You'll be fine," Ellen tells her, her voice as calm as can be. "The boys know what they're doing and you- you young lady are going to be a bonafide angel." Beth freezes mid-panic, her gaze then falling down her hand holding the vial as she raises her hand up in front of her to stare at the vial in question again. "That right there will give you your very own powers. You'll be able to smite a demon with just your hand or smite a whole horde if you concentrate just enough. You'll be able to  _fly_  from place to place and you'll be able to heal the wounded. You'll sense when danger is near and where a person's location is if you concentrate just so. But since you're brand new and don't know how to use these powers just yet, you need Castiel to teach you. If you use too much without the knowledge of what you're doing, you'll drain easily and will need rest to replenish. But Castiel- Castiel will be able to do all that and more without tiring once he's back to his old self, and he'll have the time to teach you exactly what you need to do."

"And how is Castiel to get back to his old self if he's a  _fallen_  angel?" Beth asks.

"With this." From her shirt pocket, Ellen pulls out yet another vial of grace- this one connected to a rope cord. "Castiel lost his grace a while back and his Father thought it was high time it was returned."

Beth numbly nods, her gaze falling back to her own grace in her hand and her mind running a mile a minute about everything she's been told so far. "How do I- how does this work?"

"Break the vial or uncork it," Ellen shrugs. "It's your grace so once it's free, it'll do what it needs to do on it's own."

Beth's absentmindedly nodding now, turning the vial over in hand with just her fingers. She gathers her courage, gulping once and then twice before throwing caution to the wind and pulling the cork free from the tiny bottle. Just as Ellen had said, the grace does as it's supposed to. It floats up and out of the vial in a wispy dance, floating closer and closer to her lips.

"Is it supposed to-"

"Just accept it," Ellen murmurs.

Beth inhales shakily, her grace entering through her mouth and setting off every nerve in her body. She can feel the hum of power in her veins, her grace ingraining itself into her very being. The transformation makes her stretch up on her toes, the vial slipping from her hands as she swells with energy.

One second she feels like she can take on the world and the next, she feels just as ordinary as before. "Wow. That was- that-"

"That was beautiful," Ellen cuts her off. "And really something special to witness. Now come on, little savior, you have a mission to complete."

Beth beams now, ready to take on anything as she enthusiastically nods along in agreement. As Ellen chuckles and bends down, Beth sees that a really large duffel bag has appeared at their feet. "What's this?"

"Everything that a Hunter could want and need," Ellen huffs, unzipping the bag to show Beth the contents. Pulling out a long and slim triangular silver blade, Ellen shows Beth that there are numerous more inside. "This here is an Angel Blade. It can kill both demons and angels- not all angels are nice, you'll find out soon enough- and it'll do just fine to put down a walker like a normal blade." Beth looks wary now but lets Ellen know that she's paying attention. "There are two small velvet bags in here, one full of anti-possession amulets to pass around your group to keep 'em safe from demons and the other containing the rings that make the key for Lucifer's cage. Don't worry, Dean and Sam know what to do with them." Beth gulps and shakily nods, and Ellen continues on. "You have some food and water to last a few days even though you'll come to learn you won't need food or sleep once you reach your full potential, and there's also a variety of weapons and ammunition that should keep you safe before you stumble upon the Winchesters."

"Okay."

Ellen zips the bag back up, Castiel's vial of grace dangling from her left hand as she smiles at Beth- Beth who's now working on trying to control her breathing and remain calm. She can feel that her time in this lovely is coming to an end, and wondering about her journey back is starting to make her anxious.

"Here you go," Ellen then says, slipping the rope cord over Beth's head and letting Castiel's grace hang around her neck like a necklace. "Only in the presence of Castiel will this necklace come off so don't be too worried about losing it."

Blowing out a sigh of relief, Beth seems to lose some tension in her shoulders. "That's good to know. But when I'm down there, how will I know who the Winchesters are? In case you haven't been taking a peek, people have taken drastic measures to survive and it's not easy to trust just anyone anymore."

"Oh, honey, you'll know."

And in a move that showcased how trusting Ellen was of Beth, Ellen opens up her arms for a hug and embraces Beth with a laugh. "Give those knucklehead Winchesters a slap upside the head for me, will 'ya? Lord knows they need it."

Giggling nervously, Beth agrees. "I will."

Feeling the goodness and motherly vibe coming from the elder woman, Beth can't help but sink into Ellen's embrace. They share a brief hug and when pulling out of the embrace, Ellen's smile is tinged with sadness before she's pressing a kiss to Beth's forehead and murmuring some type of incantation.

Images flash across closed eyelids and information is seared into Beth's mind.

_First mission, find the Winchesters._

_Second mission, find Maggie and the group._

_Third mission, find Castiel and return his Grace._

_Fourth and final mission, put Lucifer back in his cage._

Though they only have four missions to complete, Beth knows nothing will come easy for them especially with demons and monsters trying to stop them. And just as the last of the images flash in her mind, Beth is once again submerged in a black void.


	2. Chapter 2

**Story Set** : [Polyvore](http://www.polyvore.com/remember_me_for_centuries/set?id=161184176)

*

When Beth once again comes back to her senses, everything's dark and it smells distinctly of dirt. She's laying on her back- she knows that much- and there's something weighing her down that makes her panic for several long moments. She can barely move her arms but as the seconds pass by, it becomes easier and easier the more she struggles. There's something wrapped around her- a sheet, she realizes- and her panic rises even more.

It smells of dirt, she's wrapped in a sheet, and she's supposedly been returned to earth.

_I'm buried alive!_

Beth struggles even more now, her arms becoming free of the sheet and it's then she feels the actual dirt all around her. She claws at the loosely packed dirt and turns her head to the side as her breathing becomes even more erratic; counting her lucky stars that she sheet is covering her face so she doesn't inhale any dirt.

Now kicking her feet as much as she can, she works loosening up the soil around her even more so she can claw herself out of her.. grave. In her panic and struggle, tears leak from the corner of her eyes but she's determined to get out. And just when her mind is overtaken with the thought of never getting out of her grave alive and her chest tightens with anxiety, her mind suddenly blanks and her struggling ceases.

_Breathe in, breathe out._

_Breathe in, breathe out._

_Calm yourself, take a deep breath, and dig._

Beth wastes no time in clawing her way upward, pushing upward with her eyes clamped shut so dirt does not get in them as the sheet falls away from her face. She slowly inches herself up into a sitting position, wiggling in place to loosen up the soil around her. And just when she's running out of breath and panic starts to set in once more, her hands break the surface.

Cool air brushing along her fingers makes Beth even more eager, her fingers digging back into the soil to push it aside so she can break free. The moment she feels the sun on her face, Beth opens her eyes and greedily sucks in air, pausing in her mission to free herself just to sit there and get oxygen back into her lungs. And once she has enough, having restored some of her energy, she easily pulls herself free from the grave and crawls away only to fall on her back and catch her breath once more.

Though the second she lands on her back and smiles in relief, her eyes snap wide open and she sits up to hurriedly scan her surroundings. She can't believe that she just let her guard down so carelessly, she having nearly forgotten what the world is now like. And seeing no walkers or anything or anyone nearby, and surprisingly sensing no danger, Beth sighs in relief before letting herself fall on her back once more.

Once having collected herself, Beth groans and sits up to start wiping her face and arms free of filth. Though when she goes to brush off her arms, she realizes that they're covered and it's then she realizes that a dark green-gray military jacket has been added to her wardrobe. And as she looks to her grave that she just dug herself out of, she can't help but snort and then grumble in annoyance when she realizes that the duffel bag Ellen had showed her was sitting next to her grave instead of having been buried with her.

"You would have the bag of weapons placed out in the open instead of me. It'd have been a whole lot easier if I had to dig out the bag than dig out myself," she says looking skyward.

Obviously, there's no reply so she huffs and moves to crawl over to the bag, unzipping it to see all the contents for herself. The angel blades are the first thing she sees- she immediately gripping one in hand to test it's weight and can't help but feel a moment of awe as she realizes how  _right_ it feels to be holding it. She then places the one blade on the ground next to her and continues to look through the bag, a regular silver blade catching her eye and she's quick to slip it inside her boot without a second thought. Several small handguns and pistols with silencers lay inside the bag, and boxes of ammunition are in there as well. Wasting no time, Beth starts loading a pistol before placing it beside the angel blade she had left out for herself seeing as there was no harm in being prepared since she didn't know how to use her angel powers just yet.

She finds the two small velvet bags that Ellen had told her about, the one with the rings being left and safe inside the duffel bag while Beth studies the amulets in the other. For a moment she thinks about putting one on because she doesn't want to be possessed by a demon but something stops her and reminds her that she's somewhat of an angel now.

_You don't need anti-possession charms to keep you safe. You're an angel._

So tossing the bag of amulets back into the duffel bag, she pulls out a bottled water and nutrition bar- completely bypassing everything else in there- and zips the bag closed. As she finally stands, she's quick to brush off any lingering dirt from her clothing and again, she realizes something else had been added to her wardrobe- a thigh holster clinging to her right thigh. With an amused chuckle and a quick counting of her blessings, Beth holsters the pistol she had loaded and tucks the angel blade in the back waistband of her jeans before picking up the duffel bag. For some reason, it isn't as heavy as it should be and Beth has no problem laying the strap of the bag over her head and across her chest.

With her oat grain bar and water in hand now, something whispers in the back of Beth's mind to start walking west.

_Head westward. They'll find you soon._

And not wanting to second guess her new abilities, Beth opens up the foil of her snack and starts her journey.

**XxX**

Beth is surprised by how not afraid she is when she stumbles upon a walker. Before, she would have either shakily taken care of the problem or sped up her walking enough to make sure it stayed a good distance away from her. Now though- now she either walks passed without batting an eye or if it's already in her path, she makes the knife in her boot come in handy.

She doesn't know how long she's been walking, only that it's been long enough to have less than half a bottle of water left over from her first bottle still. And seeing as she remembers that now-a-days you need to ration what you eat, she's only been sipping here and there so that's how she knows it's been a long while.

Her jacket is tied around her waist as the sun beats down on her, the angel blade lying beneath her shirt to remain hidden in case someone happens upon her. And luckily for her, she senses the incoming of another living being- two to be exact that has her briefly tensing- before she hears the hum of a vehicle engine. She doesn't bother glancing over her shoulder, her gaze set straight ahead as one hand swings limply at her side and the other grips her water bottle.

Normally, she'd have run and hid in the woods off to the side while the strangers passed but her new senses apparently don't warn her about danger. So instead, she idly kicks a rock at her feet when she spots one, her eyes falling upon Castiel's grace laying against her chest before she decides to tuck it beneath her shirt so no one says anything about it. And the second the approach of the vehicle starts to slow, Beth starts to slow as well.

The approach of the vehicle ceases all together though the engine remains running, so Beth stops in her tracks and lightly sighs. And the second the engine finally cuts off all together, Beth finally turns around to see who it is. Her mind immediately starts throwing information at her- it suddenly recognizing the black '67 Chevy Impala as well as the identities of the two men who hesitantly climb out of the car as Sam and Dean Winchester.

She faintly grins at their hesitant approach even as the shorter guy- Dean- eyes her suspiciously with a gun in hand. "You a croat?" He gruffly asks, coming to a stop.

"Croat?" She tilts her head in confusion, her mind supplying the answer for her. "Oh," she then grins. "-you mean  _walker_. No, I'm not a walker."

"Huh. Never heard them called that before," he replies, assessing her and their surroundings before slowly letting his hand holding the weapon go limp. "What's a kid like you doing out here anyways? It's a dangerous world nowadays."

Beth continues to grin, her gaze sliding up to the taller brother- Sam- who's staring at her with concern. "I was actually waiting for you."

Sam's eyes widen as he freezes in place, the cocking of a gun drawing Beth's attention back to Dean who's now glaring and taking aim at her. "Who the hell are you? Who sent you?!"

Beth's gaze darts back to Sam- he, too, now armed with a dagger that has runes etched into the blade and handle. "My name's Beth Greene," she tells them calmly. "And  _He_ ," she points to the sky. "-sent me."

"Bullshit," Dean sneers. "He's been missin' since the first time this virus tried escapin' and hasn't lifted a finger to help since. Why would he start now?"

Beth shrugs nonchalantly, making the brothers fidget rather nervously. Anyone who had a gun pointed at them should not be this calm. "His children and creations created this mess so it's up to us to fix it."

"Is that what He told you?" Sam asks, surprisingly calm.

"No, it's what Ellen kind of implanted in my brain," she taps her right temple. "It's how I know that you two are Sam and Dean, and that you're Hunters of the supernatural variety. It's also how I know about Castiel and I'm here to help him, too."

"E-Ellen?" Sam's the first to falter even as Dean's gaze hardens when he hears about Castiel. "Ellen Ha-"

"Ellen Harvelle." Beth cuts him off, smiling openly now. "Tough lookin' lady but very kind eyes and smile; likes her plaid, jeans, and boots. Ringin' any bells? She told me to slap you two knuckleheads upside the head but seeing as I have a gun pointed at me, I rather not."

Sam snorts and his lips twitch into a grin, his body losing it's tension as his arms go limp at his sides. But still, Dean keeps his gun up. "What do you need Cas for? How can you possibly help him?"

"To my knowledge, Castiel's human. I'm going to fix that."

"You can't. His grace was taken," Dean deadpans.

"And that's another thing," Beth tells him, hand slowly coming up to the rope cord around her neck and tugging on it to bring the vial out from behind her shirt. " _He_  might not be helping much but he did send me down prepared."

"Is that.." Dean trails off, gaze glued to the vial of grace.

"Yes. The necklace will come off only in Castiel's presence so don't think about rippin' it from me and leavin' me behind. You're gonna need me and my group- when we find them- to help you put Lucifer's back in his cage."

"Back in the cage?" Dean scoffs, finally lowering his weapon. "No, we're gonna ice that sonuvabitch."

Shaking her head, Beth frowns. "You can't. Killing Lucifer will upset the balance of good and evil. He needs to be trapped in the cage again since it's been reinforced to hold him permanently."

"Well isn't that just peachy," Dean suddenly yells, glaring up towards the sky before settling his gaze on Beth. "The last time we had to open the cage, we needed all the Horsemen's rings. I'm not going to be Death's bitch again. Nope. Not happenin'."

"You don't have to."

"W-what?" Sam stammers.

Beth grins again, glancing down towards her bag that's hanging by her hip. "Do you mind if I open up my bag? I'm only askin' because there are weapons inside and I don't want you think I'm reaching for something."

After a moment of hesitation, Sam nods. "Go ahead."

Beth zips open the bag slowly as to not alert the brothers, one hand digging inside as she pushes aside objects until she finds what she's looking for. Hand closing around one of the black velvet bags, Beth brings it out and tosses it to Dean with a smile. Dean seems skeptical but he opens the bag nonetheless, eyes widening in surprise at what he sees.

"How?"

"Like I said, He sent me to help along with everything I could possibly need," Beth assures him. "I'm not sure where this cage door is- it's a new one so Lucifer doesn't know- but Castiel will once he's back to full power. We're to lure him out there under false pretenses of Sam saying yes- trust me, he still wants his meatsuit, whatever that means- and then Castiel and I are to help the both of you getting Lucifer in the cage while my group keeps us safe from demons and walkers."

Sam and Dean go quiet as they assess her up and down, Dean then pocketing the rings in his jacket for safekeeping. "Say that we believe you and all that," he replies. "How is a girl like you supposed to help us? You look like you can barely take on two croats at a time let alone joining the big leagues and taking on a demon. We don't have time to train you let alone a group of people."

"I have a bag full of angel blades for my people," she tells them with a chuckle. "And not only that but anti-possession amulets as well. As for me, don't worry about it. Coming back down to earth in a time like this has it perks."

"Such as?" Sam shifts from foot to foot.

"Such as becoming an angel myself," Beth admits. "I'm not sure how to use my powers just yet but that's why we need a fully powered Castiel again so he can tell me what to do. Trust me, boys, we're gonna put Lucifer back in his cage once again and retake what is ours."


	3. Chapter 3

Beth sits in the backseat of the Winchester's Impala, her duffel bag lying at Sam's feet in the front since they weren't exactly trusting of her even after she had explained her story. She doesn't mind though that they're keeping everything she has in front with them; she's just enjoying the fact that she's no longer walking and tiring herself out in the sun.

"So tell me again why we're lookin' for your friends instead of gettin' Cas his mojo back, and endin' this once and for all?"

Both Sam and Beth sigh for the umpteeth time, Sam now feeling for the young blonde girl since this is going on the fourth time Dean has asked Beth the exact same question.

"Because if you're going to one-up the devil, you need more than just your brother watching your back."

"That's what you and Cas for, ain't it? You can just smite the sonuvabitches."

Beth cringes at Dean's choice of words, answering distractedly as she leans her head more towards the open window so the air whooshes over her face. "It's called teamwork, Dean. Besides, when we first had this argument, you told me Castiel was safe and sound in Kansas inside a bunker that no evil can set foot in."

"Yeah. And?"

"I'm more than sure that our trip to Kansas will not be so easy and can, in fact, be a lot safer traveling with a group. So suck it up, keep driving, and lets find my family and friends so we can save the world."

"Save the world," Dean snorts bitterly. "Right."

Instead of getting into an argument with Dean, Beth just hums and relishes the wind in her face. She knows why Dean is bitter, she understands, but arguing about it will get them nowhere. Supposedly, Dean had been under the impression that with Lucifer dead or locked up, time would reverse and everyone would be happy and continue on as if the apocalypse had never even happened in the first place. But according to Beth and her newly acquired powers and knowledge, with Lucifer gone from roaming the earth, the only thing that will happen is that the Croatoan virus- she didn't even know the virus had a name until it just appeared in her mind- will cease to exist as will all those currently reanimated. The world as they know it now, however, will still be the same and it'll be up to the survivors of the earth to clean up, rebuild, and start over with very little help from the Man himself to make sure the remaining survivors survive.

Sam had wondered by the Big Guy upstairs didn't just right everything after Lucifer was put away-  _He's helped this much already, why not finish it?-_ but Beth was quick to answer as the knowledge lingered in her mind. The world was ruined by His creations and His children so it was up to them to clean up their own mess; He having thought that He'd helped enough by returning Castiel's grace, giving Beth her own, and planning to make sure they survived if everything went well by giving the earth some necessities that have long disappeared.

Sam and Dean didn't think that that was fair but they had their missions now so it was best to just go along with them.

**XxX**

After hours of sitting in the car and now driving north in an attempt to find Maggie, Rick, Daryl, and the others, Beth feels a slight hunger pain. Her nose crinkles in distaste, she wishing for a split second that she was a fully working angel so she didn't have to waste food. But alas, her powers haven't settled so her body is in need of the sustenance.

"Hey, Sam," she finally caves and leans forward to hook her chin over the seat in between the brothers. "Can you pass me any type of snack from my bag? You and Dean can have your pick as well."

"Uh, yeah. Sure," he agrees. Sam leans forward to unzip the bag and search for snacks, he grumbling a moment later as he sits back with a bag of beef jerky. "Where'd you get this stuff? None of it appears to be out-of-date."

"There are no expiration dates in Heaven," Beth grins. "Shame they couldn't give me any more."

"Right?" Sam snorts. "Especially since when Dean sees what else you've got in here, he'll scarf it down in a heartbeat."

"Unless it's a nice slice of homemade pie, I don't really care," Dean grumbles, gaze set straight ahead as he drives.

"Well, it's not homemade," Sam muses and Dean suddenly slams on the brakes.

Beth giggles as she braces herself against the seat, Sam laughing a second later. "Gimme," the elder brother demands.

Sam glances over his shoulder at Beth- Beth who nods with a smile and then Sam's quick to reach back into the bag for for the packaged, overly sweetened apple pie that was there. Dean wastes no time in ripping into the package, he groaning in delight after one swift bite left him with only a small piece of pie left. Sam chuckles some more, shaking his head at his brother in amusement before opening the package of jerky and passing some to Beth.

**XxX**

The bag of jerky feeds all three of them, Beth remaining in her spot in the middle of her seat with her chin resting on the backrest between Dean and Sam. They don't know where exactly it is they're going- the brothers relying on Beth's angelic knowledge to lead them towards her group.

The sun is starting to set and Sam has had enough with listening to Dean's classic rock on repeat. So shutting off the music, Sam turns in his seat so he's angled towards his brother and it's easier to see Beth as he talks to her.

"So when we find this group of yours, what are we to expect from them? Will they be hostile?"

Beth slowly meets Sam's gaze and shrugs. "The last time we were together as a whole group, Mr. Grimes was accepting people into the prison where we were staying at."

"Prison, huh?" Dean huffs. "Concrete walls to keep the croats out? Excellent hide-out."

"Yes," Beth agrees. "It was until the Governor decided to attack us."

"The Governor?" Sam's brows pull together in confusion.

Sadly nodding, Beth sighs before leaning up to explain some of her story. "The Governor was a man who built a community near the prison we were staying at. He was doing his best to keep his people safe but he eventually wanted what was ours because it was safer. But instead of sharing the prison- Mr. Grimes didn't want to give it up because we cleaned it out; it was ours- the Governor wanted us gone. He had kidnapped my father and Michonne, and tried using them as leverage. When Mr. Grimes still refused, he beheaded my father in front of us and attacked the prison with a military tank, blowing holes in our fences and walls."

"I'm sorry," Sam tells her honestly. "That couldn't have been easy."

"It wasn't," she agrees, looking in the rear view mirror only to catch Dean's gaze briefly. "When our defenses fell, our group scattered. For a long while, it was just Daryl and I. We had our ups and downs- Daryl wasn't exactly the nicest person- but we eventually got on with one another. I got through his walls and we bonded, and then one day after we found a place to hideout, I was taken."

"You were taken?" Sam frowns.

"I was taken," she nods. "Walkers were coming through the front door so Daryl sent me out the window to wait on the back road for him. Only when I got there and was waiting, everything went black. The next time I woke up, I woke up in a hospital."

"A hospital," Dean scoffs. "What the hell were you doing in a hospital?"

"Apparently, I was fending off some walkers when a couple of cops saved me. The hospital was being run by a few cops and they saved people- making those same people pay off their debt for having their lives saved by washing their clothes, cooking, and keeping the place clean."

"Sounds reasonable," Dean mutters. "Everyone should be pulling their own weight."

"Right," Beth agrees. "Only I met a few other survivors inside who didn't want to be there and were being held against their will. One boy- Noah- was with his Dad when the cops found them. They left his dad behind because he was strong and would apparently challenge their authority. And then there was a girl- a girl who told me that the male cops were using the female survivors to keep their beds warm even if they said no." Dean's grip on the steering wheel tightens and Sam's jaw clenches in anger. "Noah and I managed to escape but I didn't get far. I was recaptured, beaten, and forced to continue my duties in the hospital."

"Were you ever-"

"No," she's quick to cut off Sam. "One man tried but Dawn- the one charge- and the main doctor stopped him."

"How did you- how did you pass away?" Sam finally asks, fidgeting in his seat after asking such a question.

Beth notices his squirming but assures him that it's fine. "Another from my original group was taken to the hospital as well after they ran her over with the car. Somehow, our group found out where we were and kidnapped three of the cops in exchange for Carol and myself. It worked but when we were getting ready to leave, Dawn wanted Noah to stay even after Mr. Grimes accepted him into our group. We knew that if Noah stayed, they'd kill him so Mr. Grimes told her no. But seeing the direction that everything was going, Noah decided to stay to keep the trouble at bay. It was me who made the first blow, I had been fed up with Dawn and the way she was running things. There was a pair of scissors hidden up the sleeve of my cast and I shoved the blades into Dawn's shoulder. Only on reflex, she pulled her gun and pulled the trigger. I was shot in the head."

They drive in silence for a few minutes, Dean being the one to break it first. "I hope that hospital burned to the ground."

Beth knows there were good people in that hospital but she also knows that death was more preferable when faced with what the men in charge were doing to the females. So instead of arguing that not all people in the hospital were horrible, she merely hums and stares out the front windshield.

"So this Mr. Grimes is the one we'll have to look out for?" Dean asks when the silence becomes too much.

"Mhm. And Daryl, and Tyrese, and Michonne," she tells him. "It depends on who's still with them and if they added to the group or not. They're very protective of our own."

"We can understand that," Sam mentions, briefly glancing at his brother's side profile which causes Beth to smile. "I'm more worried about convincing your group of what's really going on and how they're going to take your miraculous return."

"Yeah, well, just hope it isn't Daryl we come across first. He's a shoot first, ask questions later type of guy."

Dean grunts. "Sounds like my type of party."

Sam huffs and grins, and Beth merely shakes her head in amusement as they once again fall into a comfortable silence.

**XxX**

With the sun long gone and the moon casting the world into eerie shadows, Dean finally pulls off the main road only to park deep in the woods where his car is hidden from view.

"This will have to do for the night," he remarks, cutting the engine and cracking the window open. "Baby's runnin' low on gas and I rather not run out during the night. We can continue on searchin' tomorrow while we also siphon some gas if the opportunity shows itself."

As Dean makes himself comfortable with his back against the driver side door, Sam moves so his back is against the passenger side door and frowns apologetically at Beth. "Sorry about the sleeping arrangements. At least you can stretch out in the back."

"Oh." Beth startles when she realizes what they're doing. "No, it's fine. This is fine," she assures them. "But I'm really not sleepy. I could take first watch if you guys want and you can take the back seat since you're taller than Dean and need the leg room."

Dean snorts and smirks, eyes closed as he crosses his arms over his chest to get comfortable. "We're light sleepers, kiddo. Sammy will be fine up here with me so get some rest."

"I insist," she tries again. "I'm a bit wired after being resurrected. There really will be no sleep for me anytime soon. It's fine, really."

Dean cracks open an eye, staring at Beth and her supposed wide awake demeanor before glancing and Sam, and shrugging. "Kid wants to take watch, Sammy. Let her take watch."

Sam sighs and after getting reassurance from Beth one last time, he gestures to the back door and lets her go. "Don't stray too far. If there's a large group, wake us up." Beth eagerly nods and instead of handing her a regular blade like the one she had kept in her boot, Sam passes back one of the angel blades. "Be safe."

**XxX**

Beth manages only a couple hours on her own, she walking a small perimeter around the Impala as the boys sleep. The only sounds in the woods is that of insects chirping- she being surprised that her own footsteps didn't make a sound as she walked over dead leaves and twigs.

When she gets bored with the walking, Beth picks a rather thick tree to rest her back against, and concentrates on using her hearing and seeing to keep them safe.

Sometime in the very early hours, Dean manages to sneak up on her. Well, at least he thought he did.

"You know, for a Hunter, your footfalls are really loud."

He snorts, walking around the tree only to find Beth sitting there on the ground and relaxing. "And here I thought you'd fallen asleep on the job."

"You should give me more credit than that, Winchester," she slowly grins.

And shrugging, Dean takes a moment to study her. "I hardly know you, kid. I haven't seen you work yet."

"You'll get your chance right now," Beth says as she starts climbing to her feet. "And the name's not kid. I haven't been a kid for a very long time."

Dean slowly smirks as he watches the young blonde stand, all seriousness as the angel blade slides free from the sleeve of her jacket only for her to grip the handle in hand as she stares to their right. It's then he hears it, the snarls of hungry croats and the dragging of their feet. It's a small group of four and as Dean starts reaching into his jacket for his own dagger, Beth catches his gaze and gives a small shake of her head. "I got this."

Dean quirks an eyebrow but listens nonetheless, holding his hands up and taking a step back as Beth starts walking towards the incoming group. With determination etched into every feature, Beth strides up to the first walker/croat and pins it to the nearest tree by it's neck. Her left forearm pushes up against the walker's throat to keep it in place as he gnashes his teeth at her, her right hand gripping the angel blade before bringing it up over her head and driving the pointed end downward into the walker's skull.

Dean's impressed that she doesn't even bat an eye at the oozing blood or squelching noises, she letting the croat fall into a heap at her feet. The next croat she takes on, she grips it by it's dirtied shirt, holding it at arms length while readjusting the angel blade in hand and shoving the pointed end upward into the croat's brain from under it's chin.

The third croat catches Beth off guard as she struggles to pull free her blade, Dean then quickly stepping in to dispose of it before it could take a chunk out of Beth herself. And when the fourth and final croat falls by Dean's hand again, he sighs and stands straight only to see Beth cleaning her blade off with a leaf and a lazy grin.

Cleaning his own dirty dagger on the back of his jeans, Dean offers Beth a slow smirk of amusement. "Not bad, Beth. Not bad at all."


	4. Chapter 4

When the sun's first rays light up the sky, Sam wakes to an empty car. He stretches and yawns and looks around the empty vehicle in a daze, rubbing the sleep from of his eyes before deciding to exit the vehicle to see where his brother got off to. Although instead of having to call out and possibly attract unwanted attention, muffled laughter reaches his ears and gives him the general location of Beth and his brother.

And sure enough, Sam finds both people in question sitting with their backs against trees and a few dead croats a couple yards away.

"Any problems?" He asks, gaining Dean and Beth's attention as he waves in the general direction of the croats.

"Nope. All good," Beth smiles at him.

"Better than good, actually," Dean smirks. "You shoulda seen her, Sammy. The kid-  _Beth_ , I mean Beth," he corrects when she groans at the nickname. "-is practically a natural."

The young blonde preens under Dean's praise and Sam rolls his eyes at his brother's sudden ease with the young girl. "I'll believe that when I see it." Dean chuckles when Beth suddenly pouts, and Sam walks closer to lean against the tree Beth is resting against. "What were you laughing at anyway? I heard laughing when I woke up."

"Oh," Beth suddenly perks up. "Dean was telling me about Castiel and his personal space issues. He sounds like a.. swell guy."

"Swell," Sam's lips twitch in amusement. "That's one word I haven't heard used to describe Cas."

"Oh, and I heard about your run in with Cupid!"

Dean snorts but doesn't comment, he choosing to instead to climb to his feet. "That's enough chit-chat for the day. It's light out so we should hit the road."

**XxX**

They're still travelling North- Northeast when the roads are too cluttered to get around- both Beth and Sam being forced to listen to Dean's classic rock once more. Though the music is preferable to silence, both Sam and Beth can't help but mentally curse the existence of cassette tapes and Dean's love for them.

Beth is once again in the backseat- though the brothers were lenient enough to let her keep her bag in the back now- and Sam is once again in the passenger seat up front, though this time, he's studying a map in his lap. "What exactly is north of here?" He suddenly sighs. "The way we're heading, we're headed for the more populated states. You'd think that a group of survivors who have lasted this long would stick to more rural areas since there's less croats walking around there."

Dean hums in acknowledgement and agreement, Beth humming as she moves forward to peer over the seat and Sam's shoulder. "I'm not sure. As I said before, I was taken and then when we were reunited, it wasn't for long."

"Sorry about that."

"Don't worry about it," Beth nudges Sam's shoulder with a grin. "What I am worried about is our reunion, the inevitable confrontation, and then figuring out how the group is going to fit in Dean's car."

"No one is riding in Baby," Dean snorts. "Except for Sam.. and maybe you if you want. We'll find a suitable vehicle- keep an eye out starting now- for your friends and we have some gas in the trunk to spare that we siphoned earlier."

"It's going to have to be a big vehicle," Beth muses. "We were originally a big group so.."

"Yeah, yeah. Find a gas guzzler. We know," Dean cuts her off.

**XxX**

On the lookout, they end up finding a decently suitable truck- the beige GMC large enough for three people inside the cab and a handful of others in the bed of the truck. It needs a bit of work and cleaning- something in which Dean gladly takes charge of while Sam fills the tank with gas. They were going to let Beth drive it but after she confesses she doesn't know how to drive, Sam drives the truck while Beth accompanies Dean in the Impala since she's acting as their sense of direction.

Though a couple hours into the drive, the sky ahead of them starts to darken very ominously.

"Pull off to the side," Beth mutters, leaning forward with her gaze on the sky as she feels a twinge in her gut. "I've got a bad feeling about this."

"What, the storm?" Dean huffs when he follows her worried gaze. "It's jus' a lil' water, some wind, some noise, and a flash here or there."

"I know what a storm is," Beth frowns. "But this- this feeling? It's just.. it's different. It feels-" she trails off, brows pulling together as she tries to put her feeling into words only to sigh in frustration.

"Like the great Powers That Be are warning you of impending doom?"

"Yes!" Beth smiles in realization that that's what the feeling is- her angelic senses warning her- but when she faces Dean, she finds him grinning and chuckling as if mocking her. "You were joking," she then realizes.

Smiling, Dean glances at Beth's saddened expression and his amusement falters as he comes to realize that she wasn't joking. "You're serious."

"Of course, I'm serious!" she snaps, frowning a second later and taking a deep breath to collect herself. "Something feels off. I wouldn't tell you to stop just because I was scared of a storm. Which, I'm not," she clarifies as an afterthought.

Dean's gaze ping-pongs between the road and Beth, he deciding a minute later to finally listen and pull off to the side of the road. Sam pulls up next to them, gesturing with his one arm hanging out the window as if saying  _what's going on?_

"Bad storm," Beth hollers over the sounds of the combined engines. "We need to hang back and let it pass."

The Impala's engine cuts off, Dean leaning over to peer through the passenger side window to see his brother. After a  _cut it_ motion from his hand, Sam shuts the engine off to the truck and stares back at his brother. "Her angel senses are tingling," Dean grins.

Sam nods in understanding before he climbs out of the truck, slamming the door shut and leaning against it which prompts Beth and Dean to join him out in the open. Thunder rumbles in the distance and lightning flashes across the sky, charging the already electrified atmosphere and causing Beth to shiver.

"I hope they found shelter," she mumbles, gaze on the brewing storm. "I feel like they're here- right there," she points off in the distance. "They're so close."

"Of course they found shelter. They're survivors," Dean assures her. "They know what they're doing."

"Unless the storm caught them off guard."

"Alright, debbie downer, I'm trying to be optimistic here."

Sam snorts as he grins at his brother and their newest ally, crossing his arms over his chest the second the wind reaches them. It's not strong enough to send them back into their vehicles but given it's strength, he knows the storm up ahead is going to be a rough one. The tall grass in the fields surrounding them sway with every strong gust, Sam's hair and Beth's ponytail whipping around their faces.

The trees in the woods ahead of them barely sway, but it's a handful of minutes later when the trees nearly bend do they realize something's wrong. The thunder is louder and more frequent along with the lightning, and instead of the wind blowing against them, it appears to be being sucked from behind them now- being sucked towards the storm.

"You hear that?" Dean suddenly perks up, pushing himself off from leaning against the Impala. "What's that sound like to you, Sammy?"

Sam shrugs, hands tucked into his jean pockets as he moves to stand beside his brother and braces himself against the wind. "A storm?" he guesses.

"No," Dean shakes his head. "Listen. Really listen," he says and Beth doesn't like the way Dean appears to be too serious now. "You're hearing the thunder but below that- there's a constant rumbling."

"Like a train," Beth realizes, eyes going wide in fear. "A tornado."

Alarmed, Sam's eyes widen. "What?! Why are we sitting here then? We should find shelter!"

But Beth shakes her head, quickly shutting his idea down. "It won't reach us here. If it was, I'd know." Her gaze remains on the destructive storm miles ahead of them, heart pounding as she mentally prays that her sister and the remaining group are safe.

The storm keeps up for the next half hour, Beth worrying her bottom lip as she never tears her gaze from the tornado's destructive path. And it's only when the constant rumbling ceases and the sky starts to lighten up does Dean suggest they get back in their vehicles to check out the damage. Beth has a strong feeling that they're really, really close to the group, she telling them as much and Sam is quick to take out their First Aid from the trunk of the Impala to let her hold on to it.

Dean leads the way again, their drive soon coming to slow crawl since the storm had uprooted numerous trees and flung about croats that had been unfortunate- fortunate, really- enough to be in the tornado's path.

"Dammit!" Dean curses as he maneuvers around fallen debris, a large tree trunk blocking the road up ahead. "We're gonna have to walk on foot or find a completely new path to take. Is your mojo picking up on anything?"

Beth frowns, grimacing at all the walkers that have been torn apart and flung around that are now lying in the road or on the side of said road. She gulps and averts her gaze, sitting back in her seat while nodding. "The pull is really strong now. They're close."

"Close enough to walk?"

"Possibly."

"Alright. I'm gonna drop you off here and try to find somewhere to hide the car in the treeline. Tell Sammy just to leave the truck by the downed tree. Everything we need is in the car anyway."

"Okay." Beth exits the car when Dean comes to a brief stop, she walking towards the truck where Sam has stopped and is now leaning his head out the window as Dean drives off. "He said to park the truck here. We're gonna walk on foot but he wants to hide the car just in case," she tells him.

Sam nods, parking the truck and undoing the wires that he had twined together to hot wire the engine to life. As he exits the vehicle, he and Beth walk towards the large tree that had blocked their path and wait for Dean to return. And when he finally appears from the treeline, he has a backpack in hand as well as several guns and blades that he disperses between the three of them.

Beth holsters a gun to her thigh and an angel blade slides into the back waist band of her jeans, and the brothers both take an angel blade each- Sam also taking the demon blade and a small handgun while Dean handles a sawed-off shotgun. The backpack holds the First Aid supplies as well as the anti-possession necklaces and a few food items, and Sam shoulders the bag without a second thought. If the group were coming back with them, they would appear a lot more friendlier with food and it would be a lot safer to have them safe from possession the second they were seen out in the open together.

**XxX**

Dean, Sam, and Beth end up on a seemingly deserted dirt road leading up to an abandoned farm- the only thing left standing in the distance being a paint-chipped barn and the occasional rusted tractor that the tornado seemed to skip. Trees were uprooted and/or snapped in half, and walkers/croats- either dead for good or impaled by branches that kept them in place- snarl and growl for a taste of fresh meat.

The closer they get to the barn, the more walkers/croats and thick trees they stumble upon. Sam and Dean take the lead fairly quickly, letting Beth walk behind them even as she groans and mutters about being able to take care of herself.

"You'd think that after proving my capability last night that Dean would let me handle myself but no," she drawls, kicking at dirt clumps along the road.

"It's just for now," Dean assures her after huffing in amusement. "We're not sure of the reception you're going to get and well, if they don't take your reappearance too kindly, we can't have you getting ganked. We need you even if they don't believe what we have to tell 'em."

"Ganked?" Beth snorts. "What's-"

A twig snaps, freezing everyone in their tracks. "Shh," Dean mutters.

Another twig snaps. No growling. No moaning.

"Do you think-"

"Drop you weapons and put your hands up." A gun cocks at their backs, and Beth tenses up when she recognizes the gravelly voice. "Turn around nice and easy, and state your business."

Beth watches as Dean and Sam never ease up but their visible weapons are slowly lowered to the ground at their feet after a moment's pause. As they slowly turn, both men give away nothing in their facial expressions and their gaze goes over Beth's head to the man at her back.

"Her, too, or does she have a hearin' problem?"

Beth gulps but doesn't turn, she slowly unholstering her weapon and crouching to lay them on the ground all without peering over her shoulder. The angel blade comes next, her hand slightly trembling as she realizes she's about to come face to face with none other than Rick Grimes within the next few seconds. But before she can turn, Sam's opening his mouth when he notices her hesitation.

"M-my name's Sam and this is my brother Dean," he tells Rick, hands held up as to show no sign of aggression. "We're just trying to survive like everyone else. We even picked up our new friend here not that long ago," he then nods at Beth though he never gives her name. "It's she who's looking for a group, specifically  _your_  group," he warily admits with a gulp.

"Yeah? And why is that?"

Beth doesn't have to see Rick's face to know that distrust is swimming in his eyes and that he feels the sudden need to take out the possible threat- the hard edge of his tone being very telling. Still, she doesn't turn around and this time, it's Dean who speaks up. "Apparently, we all have a friend in common." It's then that Dean and Sam's gaze fall to her own, quirked eyebrows saying  _well, what are you waiting for?_

Scowling at the brothers, Beth then takes a deep breath only to let it out slowly. She turns very hesitantly only to come face to face with the barrel of Rick's Colt Python. Her eyes nearly cross as she stares down the barrel of the gun, the sudden sharp intake of breath at Rick's side causing her gaze to dart to her sister Maggie whose own weapon is trained on Dean.

"How is this even possible?" another voice- female- asks, and it's then that Beth realizes Sasha is there as well with a rifle pointed at Sam.

"Beth?" Maggie finally breathes in awe, her weapon lowering as her eyes fill with tears.

Beth offers Maggie a tight-lipped smile, her eyes widening when Maggie's eyes suddenly roll into the back of her head and she collapses. "Maggie!" She takes a step towards her sister but Rick's gun waving in front of her face stops her.

"Sasha, check on Maggie. I got this." Rick's gaze never leaves that of Beth, he watching as various emotions flash across the blonde's face as she stares worriedly at her fallen sister. "How?" He finally asks. "We watched as Dawn put a bullet through your skull. We buried you."

Beth holds her tongue, her worried gaze still on her sister even as Sasha informs Rick that she'd just fainted. And once hearing her sister is somewhat fine, her gaze darts back up to Rick's tortured gaze. "It's a long and unbelievable story, Mr. Grimes," she finally says. "One that I promise to tell you once everyone's back together so it doesn't need to be told more than once."

"How do I know this isn't some kind of a sick twisted trick- that you're not just trying to see how big our group is and kill us all?"

"'Cause it's me, Mr. Grimes. It's Beth," she frowns as she pleads her case. "I know this is hard to believe but just please, trust me. Trust me like Daddy trusted you when he let you stay on our farm after Uncle Otis shot Carl. There's so much more going besides this virus outbreak and I need your help. They," she points to the brothers behind her. "-need your help to stop all of this."

"Stop this?" Sasha finally stands, her weapon training back on the group as she sneers in distaste at them. "There is no stopping this. We've already had one guy lie about a cure so what's to make us believe that  _you_ can stop this?"

Beth wants to cry- she really does. Her own eyes tear up but she doesn't let the tears fall as she wonders what happened to the group since she'd gone missing. Sure, they had been cautious before but they were never this cautious or outright mean when meeting someone new.

"Because you're starin' at a girl that went up to Heaven and was sent back down with a mission," Dean informs them gruffly. "You're starin' at a girl that has an angel's grace swimmin' 'round her neck and a girl that clawed her way out of her own damn grave back in Atlanta just to find us, find you, and help us stop the croats from chompin' on our limbs. So are you gonna kill us or are you gonna introduce us to the bigger group so we can figure out a plan and stop worrying about dyin' every single day?"

Rick and Sasha are absolutely speechless, Sasha's wide eyes darting between Dean and Beth, and Rick's gaze staring hard at the suddenly haggard looking teen. "Like I said," Beth mutters, slowly reaching up to the rope cord around her neck and pulling the vial out for Rick and Sasha to see the swirling grace inside. "-it's a long and unbelievable story. You're all gonna have to keep an open mind for what I have to tell you."

With Maggie still passed out, the remaining standing people all fidget rather uncomfortably in silence. Sasha is the first to waver with her weapon, the barrel of the rifle drooping as she stares in awe at the glowing grace just a few feet in front of her. Rick's attention is divided, his gaze ping-ponging between the grace and Beth's silently pleading expression. He eventually lets up on the trigger and lets the gun slip in his grip, he allowing the barrel of his gun to be pointed downward before he holsters it with a sigh.

"Thank you," Beth nods, shoulders slumping in relief. "I know this must'nt be easy for you and I promise you'll get answers soon enough." Rick can only nod in response, he still too shocked to say anything as he readjusts his stance by placing his hands on his hips. Then turning her back on Rick, Beth catches both Dean and Sam's gaze. "Give them  _everything._ Backpack included."

Sam's eyes widen but Dean scoffs and tries to play it off. "We did. Our guns are there," he gestures to the weapons on the ground.

"Blades, too," Beth tells him, hands finding purchase on her hips as she mimics Rick's stance and stares Dean down. "And I'm pretty sure you're hidin' another gun," she muses, fighting a grin when Dean's easy going stare turns into a glare. "These are  _my_ people, Dean, and I know them. If you're hidin' weapons, they'll just count it against you when they find the blades later in another search."

Dean's glare is quick to turn into an annoyed eye roll, his brief pout making Beth grin. Both angel blades slide out of the brother's jacket sleeves at the same time and a handgun comes from the back waistband of Dean's jeans. Beth chuckles at him as he slowly lays the gun down, the angel blades being tossed carelessly to the ground to join Beth's. But before she can give Rick her attention once more, Beth stares at Sam until he hesitantly reaches into an inner pocket of his jacket to retrieve the demon blade. Her gaze stays on the runic blade until it's lying on the ground with all their weapons, she lowly thanking them as Sam passes her the backpack he had before turning around to face Rick once more.

Rick and Sasha are now staring at the odd blades on the ground, Beth having to clear her throat until they glance back up at her. "Here," she says, holding the backpack by one strap out towards Sasha. "We saw the storm a few miles back and packed a few necessities in case someone was injured. There's a bit of food inside as well." As Sasha takes the bag, she watches as Rick's gaze falls back to the blades. "They're odd lookin', I know, and those will be explained later," Beth continues to say. "Sam and Dean really are good people, and  _oomph!-_ "

The rest of Beth's words are cut off, she suddenly finding her arms pinned to her sides as Rick wraps her up in an unexpected hug. "Beth?" his voice cracks. "It's really you?"

"Yes, Mr. Grimes," she manages to say around the sudden lump in her throat, smiling softly. "It's me."

Rick sucks in a shaky breath, he readjusting his hold on her so one hand moves to smooth down over Beth's ponytail and the other splays across her back as he rests his cheek atop her head. Dean and Sam grin at the reunion, both brothers easing up now that no one's threatening to shoot them. A groan from near their feet makes everyone freeze, and all eyes dart down to the slow moving figure of Maggie as she starts to wake.

Instead of leaving Rick's embrace though, Beth watches as Sasha scurries to help Maggie sit up. And since Sasha's crouched figure is blocking Maggie's view of the others, Beth only manages another small smile as she hears her sister say, "I just had the weirdest dream. Why am I on the ground?"

Sasha hesitates and briefly glances over her shoulder, Beth sighing before finally stepping away from Rick and closer to Sasha's side. "It wasn't a dream, Mags. I'm really here."

Maggie seems to stop breathing all together, eyes wide and mouth agape as her eyes dart up and over Sasha's shoulder to meet her little sister's gaze head on. "W-what? But how?!"

"Pretty much the same thing Rick and I were wondering," Sasha mutters before offering Maggie a hand to stand up. "Something weird is going on, and Beth and her new friends promised us answers as soon as we get back to the others."

Maggie's gaze travels over to Dean and Sam, both of whom who nervously wave in her direction before she's staring at Rick for answers as she balances on her own two feet. "I know," he gulps as if knowing what she is currently thinking. "It's strange and unbelievable but.. so far, it really does appear to be her."

Maggie's eyes immediately tear up before she's suddenly flying at Beth- a bone crushing hug making Beth giggle before Maggie's smile practically blinds those around them. "I've missed you so, so much."

"We're never gonna separate again," the blonde assures her.

The sisters are allowed their reunion for a few minutes longer, Rick soon clearing his throat and telling them they needed to get back to the barn for some explanations. And as they start walking back towards their destination, Rick and Sasha can't help but wonder just who Beth got involved with when they hear the brothers talking about a girl who looked identical to Maggie, but that it couldn't be her because  _Bela_ had been most likely ripped to shreds by  _hellhounds._

Rick frowns upon hearing that and Sasha's eyes go wide- the two of them speeding up their pace to get to the bottom of things.


	5. Chapter 5

As they make their way back to the barn, Rick keeps to Dean's left side while Sasha gravitates to Sam's right side- the brothers being next to each other in the middle. Rick and Sasha had shoved the guns in the backpack, Maggie then being in charge of the bag while the lengthy silver blades and dagger were divided up between Rick and Sasha but only until they hear what Beth and her friends have to say.

Beth and Maggie are left to bring up the rear of the group, Beth telling Maggie about how she survived with Daryl on the run after the prison attack and how she had ended up in Atlanta at the hospital. She had just gotten to the point where their group had showed up to the hospital to retrieve herself and Carol when a whistle sounds, and Beth tenses as she glances up and realizes the barn is only a few yards in front of them now.

Her voice trails off as she hears the barn door creak open, the familiar deep and southern accent of Daryl reaching her ears. "Who're they?"

The wall of four people in front of her are blocking her from view, and Maggie immediately reaches for her hand to squeeze in reassurance. "This is Dean and that's Sam," Rick gestures to each of the brothers. "Stumbled upon them walkin' down the road and confiscated their weapons. So far, everything's been fine."

"Yeah?" Daryl asks. "Any more in their group we don't know 'bout?" Rick falls silent then and Beth can see him exchange a look with Sasha. "Well?" Daryl huffs.

Clearing his throat, Rick nods. "Just one." And on cue, Rick and Dean step to the left while Sam and Sasha step to the right leaving an open spot so Daryl can see their plus one.

Daryl's standing alone at the opened barn doors, crossbow up and aimed in their direction even as his hair falls in front of his eyes. But the moment his gaze meets Beth's, his shoulders visibly sag and seconds later, the crossbow gets lowered until it's hanging limply at his side as he continues to stare in shock.

Of all the people from their group, Beth had expected Daryl to be to most distrustful- the one to shoot first and ask questions later as she'd told Dean- but she's proved wrong. The moment she sees his bottom lip tremble the longer he stares, his eyes glaze over with unshed tears that she can barely make out through the curtain of hair.

Still speechless, the crossbow drops from Daryl's hand the moment Beth mutters out a shy, "Hi."

That's all it takes for Daryl to lunge towards Beth, Maggie giggling as Beth suddenly finds herself wrapped up in Daryl's arms. Beth, too, laughs when Daryl seems to squeeze her tighter at realizing that  _she's real,_ her arms finally making their way around to soothe up and down his vest covered back.

"You're takin' this awfully well," Dean suddenly comments and Beth feels Daryl tense against her. "Beth returns from the dead and instead of shootin' her, you're huggin' her as if you've missed her."

"Dean," Beth groans and Daryl releases her only to stand to his full height, turning to glare at the other newcomers.

"People are risin' from tha dead left an' right," Daryl suddenly tells him with narrowed eyes. "She," he points to Beth. "-didn't return as the mindless an' hungry. Don't know what's goin' on but I ain't gonna complain if it means she's alive." At Daryl's pause, Dean shrugs as if saying  _touche._  "But if you knew she was returned from tha dead, why didn't you shoot her?"

"'Cause we've seen this before." Dean smirks as Maggie startles, her amusement suddenly fleeing. Rick and Sasha's gaze dart in Dean's direction as well, but he only shrugs in response. "But as explained earlier, you'll get your answers when everyone is together."

"Well whatchu waitin' for? Get inside the barn," Daryl tells him, pointing to the doors and staying back as Rick and Sasha lead the men inside.

The voices inside the barn raise and as Daryl turns back to face Beth, he cracks her a relieved grin before motioning with his head that it's their turn. And as they're nearing the door themselves, Beth bends over to pick up the crossbow and hand it over to it's rightful owner. "Huh. This thing really isn't as heavy as I remember it."

Daryl huffs and accepts his weapon, shouldering the strap and briefly grinning again. Though as they enter the barn, Daryl's amusement vanishes and he steps in front of Beth when the others all gasp and aim their weapons towards her.

"The fuck is this?!" A bulky, muscular redhead hollers.

Beth sees Carl staring wide-eyed with a gurgling Judith is his arms and Carol is blinking rather owlishly as she lowers her weapon. Noah is staring in disbelief and Beth has no idea who the others are. Glenn is the only one to stumble forward, his gaze darting between Beth and Maggie- Maggie who slowly nods with a trembling smile and teary eyes before Beth finds herself enveloped in her fourth hug for that day.

"How?" Glenn asks incredulously.

"It's a really strange story," Beth admits with a chuckle. "One that I can finally tell you now that everyone's here." As her gaze darts over Glenn's shoulder, her grin falters. "Well, almost everyone."

"No.. no, we're all here," he confirms, releasing Beth from the hug and moving on to Maggie.

"But," Beth now frowns. "Tyrese? He's not here. Or Bob," she says, voice trailing off.

No one speaks though their gazes suddenly drop, only a few of them being brave enough to glance in Sasha's direction who suddenly finds her shoes very interesting. Looking to Daryl, it's him who shakes his head. "They didn't make it," he softly mutters.

Beth gasps, her gaze quickly darting to Sasha but seeing as the dark-skinned girl is avoiding her gaze and clenching her jaw, she doesn't say anything. Instead, she looks to Rick and mouths the words  _I'm sorry_  to which he nods in acknowledgement.

"So about this story," Sasha surprises everyone as she suddenly speaks, voice strong. "I'd really like to hear it now."

There are murmurs of agreement and of confusion, and they only all gather around once Rick gives the signal, but Beth can't help but sigh sadly as a majority of the group avoid her. Instead, she's left standing with Dean, Sam, and Daryl as the others either lean against a wooden beam, squat in a crouch, or find a spare crate to sit on.

Nervously twirling a strand of hair from her ponytail, Beth fidgets from foot to foot until Dean rolls his eyes with a huff and slaps her hand away. "Will you stop that? Ginger Rambo over there," he gestures to the redhead with a mighty big rifle in hand. "-looks seconds away from ganking us. Tell them what they want to know."

The petite brunette with her hair in low pigtails grins and Daryl snorts, the redhead's glare getting even more heated as the seconds tick by. "Okay, well," Beth starts off, tucking her hands in her back pockets. "-I'm pretty sure most of you knew I died-"

"We were all present for the burial," Maggie interrupts, confirming for her sister.

Grimacing, the young blonde gulps and manages to continue. "As unbelievable as this sounds, I was in Heaven." Silence. "It took me a while to realize where I was because there's no instant light at the end of the tunnel or pearly gates." The silence is deafening and when Beth chances a look around, she notices that a dark-skinned, bald man is suddenly very interested in what she's saying. "I saw- I saw my father. I saw Daddy," she then directs at her sister, grinning suddenly. "He said he was so proud of us, Maggie. So, so proud."

Maggie hiccups on a sob, eyes swimming with tears yet again though she manages a smile. But it's the snort from the redhead who has everyone turning in his direction. "Do you honestly expect us to believe that?"

"Watch it, bub," Dean warns and Daryl shifts protectively at Beth's side.

"You watch it," the redhead replies with heat. "Even if it were true- even if we believed her words- why would someone end up back here after they'd found their peace?"

Dean's jaw ticks in anger, he taking a step forward before Sam grips him by the shoulder to haul him back. "Because I chose it," Beth quickly blurts. Once more, the attention is back on her. "I was given a choice to either live in peace or.. or to come back and find the Winchesters, find the group," she gestures to everyone around her. "-find a fallen angel, and then help put Lucifer back in his cage to rid the world of walkers."

"You're jokin', right?" The redhead just can't seem to keep his mouth shut but no one is stopping him. "Believin' the Heaven story is one thing but now you want us to believe in actual angels and the devil?! What the hell's wrong wit 'ya, kid? And if God is real, why wouldn't he just stop all this crazy shit himself?"

"Hey!" Dean barks. "The kid ain't lyin'. You might not wanna believe the devil exists but he does, buddy. Trust me. And as for  _He_  not stopping this, we asked her the same question. Apparently, His children and creations are responsible for this mess so it's up to us to fix it. As far as we're concerned, He only lifted His finger once to send Beth back down to earth with a plan. That's all He plans to do."

"Do you see this?" Beth then asks, risking everything and pulling out Castiel's grace from behind her shirt. She strides forward so she's directly in the middle of everyone and the tension rises. "This is my proof that I'm not lying." All eyes dart down to the vial in question, more than a handful of the group eyeing it uncomfortably.

Maggie and Glenn both audibly gasp as their eyes land on the swirling grace, Rick flinching as he sees it again. "Yeah, it's hard not to believe after seeing that, isn't it?"

Even as the others gather closer 'round to stare at the phenomena right before their eyes, Daryl's the only brave soul to reach out with his hand towards the grace, his fingers jerking back at the last second before lowering his hand.

"This is an angel's grace," Beth tells them. "The fallen angel I was sent to find- this belongs to him."

"And once Castiel's fully powered again," Dean picks up. "-the world will be croat free as soon as we drop Lucifer back in his cage."

"Croat?" Glenn asks.

"It's just another term for walker," Beth shrugs.

"Say that what you're saying is true," Carol calmly pipes up. "This angel you're looking for, how exactly are you going to find him? He could be anywhere."

Raising a hand sheepishly, all eyes turn to Sam. "That's where we come in. Castiel's actually a friend of ours and we know exactly where he is. He's safe with a couple friends of ours."

"Of course he is," the petite brunette with pigtails scoffs. "But how exactly will the devil being gone cure the walkers? Cure us?! We've been on a wild goose chase before," she says, eyes briefly darting to a plump guy with a mullet. "-and this scenario is even wilder now that you're trying to convince us that angels and the devil exist."

"They  _do_  exist!" Beth tells her, desperately willing everyone to actually pay attention. "How else would you explain me being here?"

"And no one is being cured," Dean cuts back in, assuring them so that they knew what they were getting themselves into. "There is no cure for this virus. Everyone who's been reanimated as one of those things will just.. cease to exist. Vanish from the face of the earth."

There's a moment of silence as his words sink in, Rick being the first one to break it. "What about us? The doctor at the CDC said we were all infected which is why we come back as one of them when we die. What's going to happen to us?"

"Nothing," Dean bluntly tells him. "You were lied to. The virus isn't a normal virus that one can contact like the flu; it's supernatural. You're only infected if you're bitten or you get their blood in you somehow, and the only reason everyone else is coming back to life is because Lucifer is throwing one hell of a temper tantrum. So with Lucifer gone, the virus will just cease to exist also."

"How do you know all of this?" Glenn wonders before looking at Beth. "Who the hell are you hanging out with?"

Beth huffs in amusement, eyes sparkling with mirth that seems out of place in a barn full of desolate people, but it's Dean who answers yet again. "'Cause this virus- the Croatoan virus- was released by demons in 2006 in a small town in Oregon. We were lured into the town, fought for our survival as well as a few others who had yet to be infected, and after 24 hours everyone in town who had been infected ceased to exist for some reason. No one could explain what happened then so it remained a mystery and no one was infected ever again until a couple years ago."

"The Croatoan virus?" Mullet guy speaks up nervously. "As in the virus responsible for 120 men, women, and children disappearing from the Roanoke Colony in 1587?"

Startled gazes travel to the guy with the mullet, their attention then drawing back to Sam who nods. "The exact same one."

"Again," Glenn asks. "-how do you know all of this? What makes you two so special to know all about this other stuff going on right under everyone's nose?"

This time, it's Dean and Sam's turn to fidget uncomfortably as well as Beth since she knows the brothers' story. As Dean nervously rubs at the back of his neck, Sam tries to grin but it comes out as more of a grimace before he sighs. "We-"

"Sammy!" Dean glares at him, shaking his head minutely.

"They need to know, Dean," Sam frowns. "If they're going to help us, they have to know everything."

As Dean glowers and Beth nears him to offer him some sort of comfort, Sam collects himself and tells the group their story. He starts with his mother's death on the ceiling of his nursery by a yellow-eyed demon, to their constant travelling on the road and ending up in motel after motel living as Hunters should. He skips the fight he had with Dean and his father, instead jumping to the part where Dean picked him up at college after their father had gone missing on a hunt. He tells them of ghosts and demons and shapeshifters and wendigos, every monster seemingly making everyone pale and a bit more uncomfortable with the knowledge that these things might actually not just be made-up stories.

Dean flinches as Sam admits he died but was resurrected when his brother made a deal with a demon. He flinches even more when Sam has to tell them about hellhounds and Dean's trip to the pit, Dean then clenching his jaw and biting the inside of his cheek when the angels get brought up. There's murmurs of confusion when Sam admits that not all angels are so..  _angelic_ and everyone's left in awe when they find out who Sam and Dean are vessels for.

Dean picks up for his brother then, he telling them how Lucifer roamed the earth in a vessel that was deteriorating, and how Sam was eventually possessed by Lucifer himself while their half-brother who they hadn't known about was taken over by the archangel Michael for the big showdown. He tells them of the fight and how he watched his brother jump into the hole leading into Lucifer's cage, dragging Michael with him all just to save the world.

Everyone stares at Sam when they realize he had been down into Hell as well, Dean quickly telling them that Castiel had been quick to pull Sam from the cage. Only Dean didn't find out until a year later because Sam was soulless and he had left without caring to tell his brother. Though when Dean figured out Sam's soul was still in Lucifer's cage with the devil himself and Michael, he tells them of nearly impossible obstacles he had to overcome just so Death would hold up his end of the bargain and retrieve Sam's soul for him.

"And with such a strong being- such as Death- entering the cage, he left it a bit less stronger than before hence why Lucifer is now free in his original deteriorating vessel and the world has gone to shit," Dean finishes.

Everyone is stunned into silence, even the few who look as if they're still on the fence about believing or not. Though before Beth can try convincing them again, baby Judith starts to whimper- her whimpers getting louder even as Carl tries soothing her. The baby doesn't let up and Rick is quick to rush to one side of the barn, pulling out a small bowl and some nuts to smash.

"There's, uh, there's applesauce in the pack," Dean mumbles. "Figured you'd be hungry and well, I was right."

All eyes turn to Maggie- Maggie who hesitates before she realizes she has said pack and immediately starts zipping it open, and rummaging through it. When she finds what she's looking for, her eyes widen as she pulls free a jar of applesauce and the plastic spoon lying beneath it.

"Could be poisoned," Ginger Rambo scoffs.

"Seriously?!" Dean remarks. "You really think us that low to kill a baby? Give me the damn applesauce," he then tells Maggie. And after doing as told, Dean grips the jar in hand and he twists off the lid. Then dipping the spoon into the sauce, Dean collects a good spoonful before shoving it into his mouth. He only eats a spoon to prove they weren't trying to poison them but when the taste of the applesauce actually sinks in, he groans in delight.

Eagerly dipping the spoon back in, Beth has to snap at him to gain his attention. "Not for you!" she nearly yells. "You had the apple pie; let Judith have the applesauce."

Cheeks heating up in embarrassment, Dean drops the spoon back into the sauce before glancing at Rick sheepishly. "Sorry. I forgot how good that tasted."

Amusement briefly flashes across Rick's features, he masking it pretty quickly before accepting the jar as it gets passed to him. Being a father and not wanting his daughter to lick the same spoon as a stranger, Rick shoves the spoon in his own mouth before loading it back up with applesauce to feed Judith- he then sighing in relief when her cries quiet down.

**XxX**

In the time that Rick took to feed Judith, Maggie wound up rummaging through the pack once more and found the rest of the food. Water, peanut butter crackers, and canned fruit with the easy open lids get passed around- Beth telling them that it was all theirs since they had a little bit left over in Dean's car.

Some of them had been hesitant to drink the water but after Dean and Sam sip from their own bottle, everyone eagerly eats their small ration of food without saying a word and drinks their drink. And after everyone is sated for just a moment, the conversation is brought back to just what the hell is going on.

"So if you were sent back to help the two brothers save the world from them walking dead things," the redhead grunts. "-what is our role in all of this? Are we just to believe you looked for us for your sister?"

"Yes.. and no," Beth explains. "I would've searched no matter what for Maggie but you- all of you are crucial in helping as well. With what the Winchesters have been doing for nearly their entire lives, they have a lot of enemies in both Heaven and Hell. When we fight Lucifer- there are going to be demons and possibly other monsters trying to stop us. It's going to be up to you to help put down those demons and keep them off our backs."

"With what, our bare hands? We're nearly out of ammo and something tells me monsters aren't that easy to kill."

"They aren't," Sam confirms. "But when Beth came back down," he says, walking slowly towards Maggie and gesturing to the bag. "They gave her blades to help protect herself as well as yourselves. May I?" Maggie shrugs, pushing the bag towards him even as others fidget uncomfortably with their weapons and raise them just as a precaution. Pulling free his runic dagger, Sam holds it out for all to see. "This is mine; it's a demon blade and kills all low-level demons. And this," he lays his blade on the ground before pulling out an angel blade. "-is an angel blade. Good for killing demons also, as well rogue angels and any other monster out there since they usually have a reaction to silver."

Everyone stares at the two blades laid out before them, Glenn reaching forward for the angel blade to test it's weight in hand as Maggie reaches for the demon blade to study the runes. Seeing that everyone is rather intrigued by both blades, Sam produces another two angel blades from the bag to pass around. Though when one blade finally gets to the redheaded man, he grips it hand after lowering his gun and points the blade threateningly at Sam, Dean, and Beth.

"So monsters exist and can take form of anyone, right? I believe shapeshifters is what you called them, so what's to say  _you three_ ain't monsters? After all, blondie died right in front of our eyes."

"Wouldn't be the first time monsters impersonated us." Dean shrugs nonchalantly and then gives Beth his attention, "You could have warned us your friend was a dick."

"I don't actually know him," she pipes up. "He's new to the group. As well as a few others I see."

"What do you mean by that it wouldn't be the first time?" Rick wonders, passing Judith back to Carl.

Dean grimaces and Sam rolls his eyes, Sam being the one to clear his throat and tell the tale. "A shapeshifter stole Dean's face years ago," he admits. "-and murdered a few college girls. Since we were seen together at gas stations, the both of us were put on FBI's Most Wanted list. We were arrested soon after and kind of forced to tell our story to a few of the higher ups when a small group of demons attacked the station. The survivors ended up cutting us loose when we helped save them but not before telling us that they were going to have to say that we escaped since no one else would believe our story."

"And then another few years later," Dean picks up. "We got arrested again but the building we were in blew up and people believed us to be dead. We picked back up with the Hunting business and when the Leviathian were released from Purgatory, two of them stole our identities since we were trying to send them back to their prison and went on a killing spree across the states. Anything and everything that was released about us on the news was all a lie. We didn't kill anyone. We only kill the monsters that deserve it."

"Well, technically," Sam's cheeks redden. "-the grave desecrations  _were_  all us." At the incredulous looks, Sam gulps and takes a step back. "What?! To kill a vengeful spirit, you have to salt and burn the bones. It's not like we wanted to do it; we had to!"

Despite the uneasy stares, Dean chuckles and claps his brother on the back. "And to answer Rambo's question, we're not monsters. We can prove it. Gimme the demon blade," he tells Carol who's holding said blade now.

After having the blade in hand, Sam explains as Dean starts rolling up the sleeve of his own jacket. "If we're demons, the blade will affect us. The cut will glow orange and if the blade isn't enough to settle your concerns, there's a small bottle of holy water in the front zipper of the backpack. Demons smoke when holy water is splashed on them."

"And if you're some other type of other monster?"

"Every other monster we've dealt with," Dean tells the redhead who's being really stubborn about everything, placing the sharp edge of the blade to his flesh. "-have a reaction to pure silver. It'll still sizzle and lightly smoke."

There's several gasps and grimaces as Dean slides the blade along his flesh, a line of blood left in it's wake but there's no obvious reaction to it. Sam does the same, grimacing as he slides the blade along his forearm and again, nothing happens. All eyes turn to Beth, she pouting when she realizes they want her to put herself through the test as well. She rolls up her sleeve and trusts Sam to do the honors as she looks away.

Chuckling, Dean's eyes crinkle at the corners. "You can take down croats without battin' an eye but a little slicin' makes you squeamish?"

As Sam cuts, Beth doesn't think twice about her words. "I've cut myself once before," she flinches slightly at the sting but when there's no reaction to it, she quickly covers the wound with her palm. "I'm not too keen on a repeat performance."

Dean's amusement falters when he sees Maggie and Glenn suddenly look a little too downtrodden, he clearing his throat, but it's Rick who changes the subject. "Okay," his rough voice has everyone looking to him. "Say we go with you to help hunt down Lucifer, do you have a secure camp that we can regroup at? I have a baby to think about," Rick then gestures in the Judith's direction. "-and I won't have her in harm's way. If you're plannin' to be on the road twenty-four-seven, then I'm afraid this is where we'll head in different directions."

"Well then, you're in luck," Dean smirks. "We actually have a bunker back in Lebanon, Kansas. Sammy and I have been living it for quite some time now- the electricity it uses being some type of mystical power source that we're not sure how it's still running, but it is so who are we to question it- and it's warded to keep any and all demons out as well as warning us when something else is near."

"There's running hot water, and enough rooms and beds for everyone," Sam tells them, smiling when he sees the shocked expressions. "There's books that cover everything on the supernatural, there's books to read for fun, and there's even a stocked gun range. The three other people with us helped raid and scavenge when the world went down the drain so we have a bit of food stocked up but it wouldn't hurt to scavenge here and there on our way back."

"So if you're lookin' for a safe place," Beth picks up. "-come with us. Not only will you be safe from walkers but you'll be safe from the monsters that not even I knew existed until He sent me back down. We can stop all of this and start over."

Seeing as Rick appears to be the leader of the group, Sam and Dean aren't all that shocked when everyone looks to him for an answer. Even though the redhead in fatigues seems like he held just as much authority- if not more- it's Rick they all turn to. "Can we have a moment to discuss it?"

Beth sadly nods, keeping a smile on her face as everyone stands and heads in Rick's direction. With only one blade in their possession, Sam wipes the blood off on his sleeve before pocketing it since it was his, and they wait around to hear the group's answer.

"Well, what do you think?" Rick asks once everyone's gathered 'round. "I gotta admit, this is strange."

"Really damn strange," Daryl adds.

"But they say they have a bunker," their leader sighs. "I know the plan was D.C for a possible safe zone but now that we know what's out there, do you really wanna risk headin' out on our own without knowin' how to properly take care of ourselves?"

"So you're believin' the Heaven and Hell story?" Abraham scoffs.

"S'hard not to," Daryl mumbles. "That angel's grace 'round Beth's neck is really damn convincin'."

Rick nods along in agreement but Abraham's worries don't go unheard. "I say we go. I know she's your sister," Rick then faces Maggie. "-but we still need to keep our guard up just in case. If things get sticky, we cut our ties and run."

"So keep our eyes peeled?" Rosita mutters. "It's nothing new," she shrugs. "I'm in. Especially if they're promising hot water and beds."

"Agreed," Carl sighs wistfully. "I could really use a shower and a decent's night or two of sleep."

After getting murmurs of agreement from everyone else, Rick makes the decision to go. So turning back to the other three occupants in the barn, he voices that their weapons be returned and that they'd better get a move on to find another vehicle if they wanted to get on the road. But once mentioned that there's already a truck waiting for them, a few of the group can't help but slump in relief that they don't have to scavenge for a big enough vehicle and gas.

As everyone starts preparing to leave- Beth, Dean, and Sam are approached by Rick and the new faces Beth had recognized that were with them. "A little after things went south at the prison," Rick says to Beth mostly. "-we gained some new members." Gesturing to each new face, Rick introduces them. "This here is Tara. Glenn found her and they kept each other safe until he was reunited with Maggie. But with Maggie," he then moves on down the line of fresh faces. "-Maggie came across Abraham (the redheaded Rambo), Eugene (the plump guy with a mullet), and Rosita (the girl with the low pigtails)."

"Hello," Beth politely greets them.

"And then lastly," Rick continues. "-before we made it to the hospital, we saved Father Gabriel out in the woods."

Beth goes to greet the elder, bald, and dark-skinned man but his attention is solely on the swirling grace that's still on display at Beth's neck. Being up close, Beth knows it's a sight to behold but the last thing she expected was the man in front of her to fall to his knees in an elated cry- practically bowing at Beth's feet and muttering about angels and salvation.


	6. Chapter 6

Once Rick manages to pry Father Gabriel away from Beth-  _really, Dean, did you just have to stand there and snicker like a little girl?_ \- both groups ready their weapons while cautiously handing back Beth, Dean, and Sam theirs. Although, they have nothing to worry about seeing as every weapon of Beth, Sam, and Dean gets holstered as if walking out in the open doesn't scare them enough to be ready and fight. Though before they can set out for the vehicles that Sam had told them about that were about a mile away from the barn, Beth digs into the back pack to pull out the anti-possession charms. And after a quick explanation of what the necklaces are for, Father Gabriel is the only one to make a quick grab for his.

Everyone else is a bit hesitant, staring warily as Beth passes them out and it's only Abraham- surprise, surprise- who scoffs in amusement before shrugging and draping the necklace over his head while mumbling about the absurdity of a necklace keeping one safe from possession. And as everyone else follows, Beth slowly walks back up to Carl to help with Judith's own necklace.

"Is that really necessary?" Rick frowns.

"Yep." Dean grunts. "Those black eyed sonuvabitches don't care how old or young the  _suit_  is. If they want to spy on us, a baby is the perfect subject to possess."

Rick looks sick at the thought of a demon possessing a baby- his baby- and nods in consent for Beth to do whatever she has to do. As she fumbles with the rope necklace, Dean swaggers forward and slowly removes a switch blade that he had kept in his boot- sheepishly grinning and shrugging when Beth glares at him because that was one weapon he hadn't given up- and cuts the rope small enough to make the perfect necklace for the kid. They secure necklace before tucking it beneath Judith's shirt so she didn't yank on it, and then Dean tells them it's time to go.

"Hold it," Abraham stalls them. "Why ain't you three wearin' necklaces?" His eyes then narrow in suspicion, the tension slowly rising when the Winchesters or Beth don't answer.

But before anything else can be said or the suspicion rises even high, Dean and Sam simultaneously reach up to the neckline of their shirts, pulling them down and to the side to show off their anti-possession tattoos. "Got these done years ago," Dean tells them. "Being possessed by a demon is not fun. Especially if you live through the exorcism 'cause it takes a toll on the mind and body."

"I'll bet," Glenn mutters.

Gazes then turn on Beth, she shifting from foot to foot as they wait for her explanation. "I- I don't-"

"She don't need one," Dean answers for her as he reaches for the angel blade now. "Beth can't be possessed and even if a demon tries, they'll run scared once they realize who it is they're messin' with."

"Yeah? And what exactly makes the kid so special?" Abraham demands, ignoring the heated glare Maggie throws at him.

Gesturing for her arm, Beth groans as she realizes why Dean wants her arm. Earlier, when they cut their arms with the demon blade to ensure they weren't monsters, nothing happened. But now that Dean has an angel blade, she knows the angel blade must do something that'll be proof enough for the group to be assured of her safety and theirs.

As Dean starts tugging up Beth's other sleeve of her jacket, she turns her face away with a frown as the tip of the blade is pressed to her flesh. "Beth was sent back down to help us make this shitty world a little less shitty," he explains. "So do you really think they sent her back as a fragile teenager again?"

Eyes widen in realization of Dean's words, and Beth's eyes close as the blade drags a bit across her flesh. At the gasps of shock and awe, Beth cracks open an eye and turns to see what they're seeing only to see the cut that Dean made is glowing the eerie white/blue of an angel's grace.

"They juiced her up," Sam then picks up the explanation. "Apparently, God made himself another angel."

"Which is another reason why we need Castiel." Dean pulls out a black bandanna from the back of his jean's pocket, rolling it up and tying it around Beth's wound since this one won't heal as easily as the other one she had slapped her palm over before anyone could see. "Once we regroup and get Castiel back up and running, he'll be able to tell Beth how to use her powers when they fully manifest. So not only will we have one angel on our side, but two."

"W-why does it have to be Castiel?" Maggie wonders. "Why not any other angel we might run across?"

"Because not all angels are good like we were led to believe." All eyes turn to Beth- Beth who nervously tucks her hands into the back pockets of her jeans. "A majority of them locked themselves up in Heaven while others.. well," she trails off, unsure how to explain.

"Other earth-bound angels either want the human race dead, are hidin' out until they can return to Heaven, or are too afraid to approach us. We are the Winchesters, after all, and we have a reputation with both angels and demons," Dean admits. "So if you're done with the questions, can we get a move on? I could really use a nice hot bath right about now."

**XxX**

Dean, Sam, Rick, and Michonne lead the group.

The Winchesters, Beth, and Carl are the only ones who don't have their weapons out, Carl because he's holding his baby sister and the others because the walkers/croats don't exactly have them on edge like they do the others. Carl, Judith, Carol, and Eugene walk behind the front line; Maggie, Beth, Glenn, Daryl, and Father Gabriel behind them; and Rosita, Abraham, Noah, Sasha, and Tara bring up the rear.

When they finally manage to make it to the vehicles with no problem, Dean leaves them by the truck to go retrieve his car from inside the woods. Sam shows Rick the truck- Rick volunteering to drive after Sam explains that they only had gas for one other vehicle so Beth decided on getting a truck so others could squish in the bed of said truck. Rick thanks him and praises them for their quick thinking about picking up another vehicle before finding the group, listening intently as Sam then explains that the truck needed to be hot wired back to life, and it's Glenn who breaks their discussion when he sighs in appreciation as Dean appears in the Impala.

And upon seeing Glenn's wistful stare, Dean smirks as he parks. "You can look and touch, but never drive." He cuts the engine, climbing out with a chuckle as Glenn stumbles forward to gently run his fingers along the surprisingly glossy paint job.

"How did you manage to keep it looking so good?"

"It's his baby," Sam tells Glenn, rolling his eyes. "Dean would rather starve than see his precious car waste away."

Beth grins, she knowing full well just how protective Dean is of his car after only spending two days with them. As Abraham and Daryl mutter about a waste of valuable resources, Dean motions everyone to gather 'round the trunk. Once gathered, he pops open the trunk and ignores the shocked expressions of everyone around him as they stare at the fully loaded trunk of weapons.

"Knowing full well that Beth was to recruit her group to help us out," he grunts, yanking on a duffel bag amidst the various weapons they own and unzipping it. "-they her sent her down with extra angel blades." He pulls out said blades one by one, handing them over to Rick who's closest to him. "I'm guessin' He knew that some, if not all, would be scared learnin' about monsters so he sent angel blades for everyone for your own protection."

Rick is a little more than shocked as he accepts them, immediately passing them out to his people. But he's even more surprised at how fast Abraham does a complete three-sixty. "Now you're talkin'," the redheaded man grins, gripping a blade tight in hand and staring at it in glee.

"Yeah, yeah," Dean says. "Just be careful with that. We can't have you accidentally killin' shorty," he then gestures at Beth. "She's an angel now so that blade can kill her just as it would any other angel and demon."

At the reminder that Beth's not exactly human anymore, everyone shifts uncomfortably before finding a place at their backs to hold their newly acquired weapon. Daryl and Michonne are the only two left holding on to their blades, both of them testing the weight and twirling them in hand though Michonne can handle the blade way better. And just as everyone's ready to get back on the road and Dean leaves Rick's group to sort out who was sitting where, Daryl's unmoving form makes Sam and Beth pause.

"Daryl?" His gaze snaps to Beth, eyes searching her expression before he brings his thumb up to his mouth to bite on his nail. "What's wrong?"

He shrugs. "Nothin'."

"Daryl."

The group slowly comes to a stop to see what the hold up is, Daryl's gaze staring straight at Beth through his curtain of bangs. "You said the world will be walker free the secon' you cage the devil an' we can all live care free."

"Yeah..?" Beth mumbles.

"Well, what's to keep them otha sumnabitches from killing us? The ones who ain't dead yet- the ones who killin' an' eatin' livin' people 'cause they ain't resourceful 'nuff to hunt what little animals are left. What's to keep  _them_  from huntin'  _us_  down?"

Everyone tenses- except for Sam and Dean because they already know how everything's going to go down- and Beth frowns. She knows not every survivor is as innocent as they can be, and she wonders just what the group's been through if Daryl mentioned other survivors eating living people. "Well," she mumbles. "They're- they're going-"

"They're goin' to be given a second chance," Dean cuts in, swaggering up behind Beth and placing a hand on her shoulder to let her know that he's there for her. He's noticed that even though she's an angel, Beth  _feels_ and  _cares._ So if he had to step in and take center stage from someone who wasn't all that comfortable with the spotlight, well then he'd do it. "When everything's said an' done, those who turned against man-kind are going to receive a  _visit._ During said visit, they're gonna have to choose to between going straight and narrow, and help rebuild life on earth.."

"Or?"

"Or they'll simply cease to exist like the croats. Apparently,  _He_  wants to simplify life for the survivors after we've done all the hard work and get rid of those who'll go against His plans."

"I'll believe it when I see it," Daryl grumbles. "Come on. Let's go."

The groups seem to disperse the moment Daryl strides over to the truck and climbs into it's bed, the others quickly following. Though when Maggie notices that Beth has made her way to the Impala, she frowns and starts in that direction. "Beth," she calls out. "-are you not ridin' with us?"

The blonde in question pauses just as her hand has reaches the handle, her gaze darting to Dean who then mutters a quick  _you're on your own, kid_ before climbing into the driver's seat. Sam snorts as he climbs into the passenger seat, both brothers leaving Beth to answer her sister as she grumbles beneath her breath that her name's Beth and not kid.

"Beth?" Maggie calls out again.

Catching her sister's gaze, Beth guiltily shakes her head. "I'll be ridin' with Sam and Dean," she says. "There's little room in the truck and the Impala has some room left over."

Maggie takes a moment to stare at her sister before turning to face Glenn who shrugs in response to whatever she tells him, and then she's staring at Dean. "Then we're comin' with you. There's no way I'm leavin' my sister's side and the three of us can squeeze in the back seat."

Dean's amusement falters and Sam's seems to blossom, Beth giggling as they wait for Dean's answer. And after a few seconds, he concedes. "Fine. But no chick flick moments! I've had enough to last for the rest of my life."

Beth's grin widens into a full blown smile, she finally opening up the back door and gesturing for her sister to get in as Glenn quickly tells Rick that they'll be riding with the Winchesters and Beth. As the three of them then quickly get situated in the backseat with Maggie in the middle, the brothers watch as the truck loads up.

Rick's in the driver seat with his son and daughter in the middle, and Eugene in the passenger seat of the cab. Abraham and Sasha stand in the bed of the truck near the back window with their rifles set on top of the roof as if they needed a watch out, and Daryl, Noah, Tara, Michonne, Gabriel, and Carol sit in what room they can find for themselves.

Rick carefully maneuvers the truck so it's turned around, and once the signal is given- a mock salute from Dean- Rick falls in line behind the Impala and lets Dean lead the way.

**XxX**

Hours later, Beth jolts awake when her head falls forward and she jerks it back in response. For there being three men in the car, the uncontrollable giggling that's not just coming from her sister would have been very amusing if she wasn't still feeling groggy. So with a groan, she reaches up to rub the ache out of her neck. "How long was I out?"

"Nearly three hours," Glenn grins, his laughing fading out. "We've only stopped once to let Rick and the others switch out drivers and passengers. Apparently, the truck still has a working AC so they're trading out so everyone can ride in a bit of comfort."

"Huh. That's the first time I've slept since I've woken from my grave. Is it weird that I'm starting to feel really energized?" she asks.

As she glances left and right at Glenn and Maggie, the only response she gets from them are slightly gaping mouths. But when she catches Dean's gaze in the rear view mirror, he shakes his head. "Nah. Angels don't need sleep or food. But since your body's not fully accustomed to being an angel yet, it makes sense you only need a little food and little sleep."

"Huh." Beth takes a moment to stretch as much as she can in the cramped backseat, peering over her shoulder and out the back window to see Michonne and Rick on watch duty even as the sun is setting while Daryl drives the truck. As she turns back to face forward, she catches Glenn staring at her from her peripheral vision. "What?" she asks.

"N-nothing," he says even as his gaze falls to her hands- her hands which are the dirtiest of her body from where she dug herself out of a grave. "It's just- it's-"

"It's okay," Beth assures him with a brief smile. "Just say whatever you wanna say."

Glenn shifts uncomfortably in his seat, glancing towards Maggie who's just as curious as the other car's occupants. Softly clearing his throat, Glenn asks, "When did you- when did you wake up?"

He grimaces as the question leaves his mouth, but Beth doesn't see anything wrong with asking. "Two days ago, I think. Sam and Dean found me hours later as I was walking down the road."

"And how did you find us?" Maggie softly asks. "Did He tell you?"

Beth now gives her sister her attention, smiling. "No. I had this..  _feeling_ ," she admits. "A feeling that was leading me towards you."

"Angel perk?"

"Total angel perk," Beth laughs, grinning at Glenn.

Instead of falling into a silence, Maggie asks if Beth really did see their Dad. And even though there's a total chick flick moment going on in the backseat, Dean can't get mad because he's been in the  _I've been brought back from life_ boat, and he knows how it feels to be reunited with a sibling so he lets it slide much to Sam's amusement.

The tears soon stop, Maggie then asking about Heaven and what it was like. The occupants in the car listen in as Beth explains what she learned while in Heaven, Dean and Sam throwing in their own tidbits from when they had visited in the past. They explain how it's not just one Heaven but billions since each person gets their own little nirvana, and how it is that you can visit other people's Heaven's and stay there if that's what you wanted.

With Sam directing Dean where to go by using a map- he highlights the roads and highways that are accessible, and crosses out those that aren't for future reference in case they had to come back this way to find Lucifer. Silence befalls the group then, only for Dean to stop in a small town nearly half an hour later. The group in the car don't question his motives but Rick does when the truck pulls up to the side of the Impala.

"Scavenging for supplies," Dean replies as he cuts the engine to the car and climbs out with a tired sigh. "We told you we'd be scavenging before we left the barn. Small towns are usually promising because everyone fled to the populated cities in hopes of larger numbers offering protection."

The truck sits in idle as Rick weighs the option of stopping now, he then knocking a fist twice against the roof before the truck engine is cut off as well. Once everyone has their own two feet back on the pavement, they all start stretching out nearly numb limbs. Baby Judith starts getting fussy and Carol's quick to try and comfort her. So as Dean heads back to the trunk of his car and opens it up, he starts rummaging through one of the bags in there.

"Hey, uh, lady!" He calls out. Dean's staring at Carol, wracking his brain for a name but when one doesn't come up, he snaps his fingers repeatedly trying to recall her name while simultaneously trying to catch her attention. "Lady! Dammit, what is her name?"

Lips twitching in amusement, Maggie sidles up to his side. "It's Carol."

"Carol! Come here for a sec, will ya?" And turning to the side, he grins at at Beth's sister. "The name would have come eventually."

"I'm sure it would."

Carol's sudden presence keeps Dean from replying to Maggie, he then smiling at the wary elder woman who's still trying to shush Judith. "There's, uh, there's some food in here," he tugs at the bag. "Feel free to rummage through it to look for something for the little tyke."

Seemingly surprised, Carol shakily offers her thanks before Dean's gesturing to a pile of flashlights and telling Maggie to pick some up before joining the others. Everyone's on guard, glancing over their shoulders with weapons out so no one or anything gets the jump on them. The group's in a loosely formed circle, all gazes darting to Dean as he approaches.

"As you know, this is a quick scavenging trip before we hit the road once again. You survived this long on your own so I'm not going to bark orders on what to look for and how to be safe. Luckily for us," he points down the end of the street that they had just driven through. "-there's a small convenient store down there where there might be some food. Across the street and up the road- just a couple yards away from us- is a hardware store, and down the street," he turns in the opposite direction to point where they have yet to travel. "-looks to be a pharmacy. Split up and see what you can find."

Almost immediately, the group splits up to do just that while Dean makes sure to tell Maggie that each group gets two flashlights. While Eugene and Gabriel get appointed to staying with Carol and Judith at the vehicles by Rick, Sam leads a small group that consists of Glenn, Sasha, Noah, and Rosita to the pharmacy. Dean, Abraham, Tara, and Michonne head for the hardware store, and Rick leads Beth, Maggie, Daryl, and Carl to the convenient store.

The windows to the convenient store are covered with grime, as is the door, but surprisingly not smashed out. Instead of entering the store without knowing if any walkers are inside, Daryl slows the group down while he pounds on one of the windows. They wait for a couple of seconds and when the telltale sounds of rasping and groaning reaches their ears, everyone prepares their weapons.

Rick pockets the flashlight he has as he and Carl ready their guns, and Daryl waits in front of the door but Beth shakes her head at them. "That's just a waste of ammunition, guys. We got blades."

Rick and Carl pause, Daryl humming in agreement as Maggie pulls free a dagger from her belt loop. She grins at Beth- Beth then reaching down into her boot for a similar dagger instead of using the angel blades and pockets the other flashlight as well. "We got this," Maggie assures them.

Daryl snorts as Rick and Carl back down- both father and son sporting grins- and Daryl pulls open the door before stepping back. As Maggie and Beth ready their daggers in hand, three walkers shuffle out of the store in hopes of a warm meal and the two girls lunge without a second thought. Maggie's dagger is gripped in hand so that when she raises her fist above her head and brings the dagger down, the blade penetrates the top of the corpse's head. And Beth's dagger- her dagger is gripped just so, so that when her arm swings out to the side before being brought in, the blade penetrates the second corpse's temple.

Blood and rotting flesh squelch, and bone cracks but both ladies don't bat an eye. They both stumble back with the now limp bodies, yanking their weapons free with a soft grunt. The third walker gains on them as he snaps his jaw in anticipation, but before either Beth or Maggie can prepare themselves, an arrow whistles through the air and impales the walker through the eye socket.

Maggie gives her thanks even as Beth playfully pouts, and Daryl shrugs. "What?" he asks, walking up and bending down to retrieve his arrow. "Thought you could use a hand."

Beth shakes her head in amusement, she and her sister keeping the daggers in hand. Rick and Carl take the lead into the store, both with their guns raised in case they ran into any other complications. Beth and Maggie enter after them, and Daryl watches their backs until he, too, enters the store.

Flashlights come back out and the beam of lights click on, and surprisingly, there are still items lingering on the shelves. And after Rick and Carl make a quick run through of the aisles, Rick nods. "Split up. Grab what's edible."

Maggie sticks with Beth- the elder sister finding a small plastic shopping basket before they start their search. Rick and Carl do the same, and Daryl shrugs while swooping up a basket of his own and using what little light is left filtering through the dirtied windows to see what's on the shelves in front of him.

Finding a few dusty cans, Maggie wipes away the filth only to fine a picture of canned vegetables. And next to them are canned fruits. "Do you think they're still okay to eat?"

"Only one way to find out." Beth passes her sister the flashlight, she quickly wiping down both bottom and top of the can in search for it's expiration date. Once found, Beth grins triumphantly. "If I remember correctly from Ellen who told me everything I needed to know, we're nearing the end of 2014."

"And?"

"And these cans expire in the middle of 2015."

Maggie's smile is so wide that Beth can't help but return it. "Hey, guys," Maggie calls out. "Good news, these cans have yet to expire."

Carl whoops even as he still checks the expiration date on the rations he and his dad find, and Rick smiles though it was hard to see given that his beard had gotten a bit wild and covered it. "About damn time somethin' goes our way," Daryl's gruff voice replies.

There are chuckles all around, and just as Beth turns around to continue loading up on what they can find, an overwhelming feeling of dread washes over her. The feeling deep down in the pit of her stomach has her wanting to regroup as does the sudden heavy sensation pressing down on her chest. But pushing that feeling aside for a moment, Beth shakes her head clear and continues to drop in can after can.

"Uh, how do we know if the food is not expired again?" Carl suddenly asks. "I'm not even sure what year it is let alone what month we're in."

"We're nearing the end of 2014," Beth supplies. "That's about all I know."

"Got it. Mostly everything we've found expires mid 2015." Carl responds. "Found some white and brown rice."

"Got some beans," Daryl says. "Paper towels, some lady  _things_ , an' toilet paper. Lord knows this stuff is precious nowadays."

Beth and Maggie erupt into a fit of giggles, agreeing with him as they continue on. Alot of the other canned foods have expired and as Maggie talks about spoiled food and not wanting to risk anyone getting sick, the faint nauseating smell of rotten eggs fill Beth's senses. She grips the basket's handle in one hand, using her free arm to come up and shield her nose. "Ugh, what's that smell?"

"Dead bodies," Maggie mumbles. "Thought you'd be used to it by now."

"No, not that." Beth frowns. "The eggs. Did someone open a jar of pickled eggs or something?"

Rick, Carl, and Daryl stop their scavenging- all three looking over at Beth who's still grimacing and looking a bit queasy now as she covers her nose. "There ain't no egg smell," Daryl shrugs. "Must be on your end."

"Nothin' here," Maggie shakes her head before looking on in confusion at her sister. "You feelin' okay?"

"Yes," the blonde gulps and takes a step forward only for the hairs on the back of her neck- as well as her arms- stand up. "No," she then takes a deep breath. The dread's back tenfold and the weight on her chest feels crushing, alarm bells practically shrilling in her head. "Something's not right," Beth tells them and starts looking towards the exit. "We need to regroup."

"What's going on?" Rick calls out, suddenly very serious.

"I-I'm not sure. But something- something's coming and- and I can't-" she shakes her head, face scrunched up as she tries to figure out what's going on and her breathing becomes harsher.

Dropping the basket, Beth's hands clench at her sides in a brief moment of panic. One second she's on the brink of breaking down and the next, her back straightens up and she's suddenly void of any emotion. "We need to regroup. We need to group  _now!_ "

The sudden change in Beth's demeanor is enough to shake everyone up- even more so when a woman's scream pierces the air before said woman starts hollering for help from anyone. The remaining baskets of food from Carl and Daryl drop, all three men including Maggie reaching for their weapons. As they rush to the front door to see what's going, Rick notices that Beth is still glued to her spot.

"Beth?"

"Go. I'll catch up."

"Do you know something about this?" He asks, his gaze darting between the door where Daryl is waiting and back to an eerily calm Beth.

"Somewhat. Go," she tells him again. "Keep it distracted. I'll be there soon."

If Rick noticed she said  _it_ instead of she, he doesn't voice it. Instead, he hesitantly nods before releasing his Colt Python once again from it's holster and makes his way to the exit.

**XxX**

When the woman's scream had pierced the air, everyone in the hardware store had startled and possibly yelped, though Dean would deny it until his last breath that it was him. Everyone had scrambled for the exit with guns raised as they forgot all about what items they were looking for- all muttering about keeping their guard up until they could be sure.

No one had to tell Dean twice, he knowing full well the tricks monsters used to lure innocent people out in the open. And as the woman continued screaming for help, they all exit the shop only to find the rest of their group running towards the hardware store because if this is a trap, they all want to be together and not caught off guard. Dean's the only one to notice Beth missing from the group but when Rick meets up with him, Rick is quick to mutter about how Beth said she'd be out soon.

The survivors form a half circle in the middle of the street with Carol, Judith, Eugene, and Father Gabriel behind them- some weapons raised while others stayed down at their sides. Dean, however, remains unarmed as he takes the lead and steps out in front of the wall of people with his hands on his hips.

The screaming, blubbering woman is barely passed the pharmacy as she runs towards them, peering over her shoulder as she screams about how  _they are coming._ Many of the group tense as the woman nears, even more so at her words as they try to see who  _they_ are but see nothing.

She crashes into Dean- Dean who grips her lightly by the shoulders as she keeps looking back. Everyone who still has hold of their flashlight trains the beam of light on her, they finding dirtied and torn clothing on a mocha skinned female, dark springy curls falling just passed her shoulders. Her screaming ceases but the cries are louder than ever and when she turns to face her savior, she stills. The blubbering stops, the tears vanish, and a sneer twists her red plump lips. "Winchester."

Immediately, Sam's blade raises in front of him and Dean tosses the woman to the ground without a single complaint from the group. As she hits the pavement with her left hip, she laughs at their reactions before rolling into a sitting position and effortlessly rising to her feet just as Dean pulls out an angel blade. "Really, boys? You should know better than that." Her right hand raises to chest level, palm up and fingers squeezing inward as if squeezing a ball. Dean grunts first then Sam, and both brothers drop their weapons.

"Who the hell are you?" Dean angrily demands, not bothering to go for his blade again.

"Name's Costia," the dark skinned woman answers. "And boy, I gotta admit, I'm severely disappointed," she playfully pouts. "I thought the virus would have taken you boys out but I guess not. You Winchesters are really annoying." Silence reigns, everyone else too shocked to really say anything. "But boy, is Father going to be pleased about all the meat suits I'm bringing him back." Tension mounts even more and Rick aims his Colt, he clicking a bullet in place. "Oh, handsome, do it," the woman leers at him. "I dare you."

Her eyes bleed back and Rick doesn't hesitate to pull the trigger.

_BANG!_

Costia's head snaps back as the bullet hits her square in the forehead, she picking her head back up with a too bright smile. "Oohh, that tickles."

As one, the group sans Dean and Sam take a step back, not knowing how to handle this new situation they suddenly find themselves in.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The woman I'm picturing as Costia goes by the name Tika Sumpter. Google her if you must, but don't get too attached to her ;)


	7. Chapter 7

All guns are immediately holstered, and all the angel blades make an appearance. Costia coos at the group, eyes black as night and lips stretched into a smirk as she inhales the deliciousness of their fear.

Abraham, unsurprisingly, is the first to lunge with his angel blade gripped tight in hand. And he's also the first of the newbie's to feel the impact of an invisible force tossing him off his feet and to the side with just a flick of Costia's wrist. As he hits the ground with such force to grunt and groan in pain, the demon chuckles. "You Winchesters really know how to pick 'em, don't you?"

Rosita is next, yelling in outrage and lunging with her own blade but Sam is quick to catch her. "Don't! She'll just toss you aside, too."

The petite hispanic struggles in Sam grip, curse words falling from her lips as the demon mocks her, and Rosita lets herself be pulled back to calm down. "You meatsuits really picked the wrong boys to trust. I almost feel bad for you. Almost."

"Enough with the chit-chat," Dean rolls his eyes. "You're outnumbered so run back to daddy, 'ya skank. We don't have time for you."

"Outnumbered, you say? Why, Dean-o, do you really think I'm that moronic? Do you really think I don't have friends waiting for a signal? You're losin' your touch, monkey. I have this place surrounded."

The group sans Dean and Sam tense, the demon before them chuckling sardonically. "Funny you should mention someone losin' their touch," Dean slowly smirks now. "Either you're one of the scum of Hell that's tryin' to make a name for herself or you really  _are_  just that moronic," he chuckles and it's the demon's turn to go quiet. "Take a big whiff, you bitch. Do you really think we'd be travelin' without some help from the Big Man up above?"

"You're lyin'. Everyone knows Castiel doesn't have his grace," she sneers. "You're stalling. Now," she then looks to the rest of the terrified group. "-everyone toss your weapons to the side and we'll take it easy on the littlest monkey. No one will possess her until she's older."

"Oh, eat me." Dean huffs. Daryl snorts and Dean's quick to shoot him a smirk in return. "No one's tossing their weapons and no one's bein' possessed."

"Really now?"

"Really, really," he deadpans just before grinning. "By the way, I thought you came with friends?"

"I did." Now showing agitation, the demon shifts from foot to foot as she glares at Dean.

"Huh. Some friends you have. They couldn't even warn you about the angel at your back."

Costia's eyes widen just as a hand clamps down on her shoulder, Beth standing behind her- her facial expression giving nothing away- and driving an angel blade into the demon's back. Costia screams, mouth opened wide as her eyes, mouth, and every vein in body glow an eerie orange before flickering out much to everyone's disbelief. The screams cease and Beth lets the body crumple to the ground, her blade gripped tight in hand as she huffs and puffs and stares at the dead demon.

"Alright, kid!" Dean cheers. "Now that- that was awesome."

The group is shocked into silence, the reality of demons existing fully sinking in now. Rosita then rushes off to the side to help Abraham back to his feet and back to the group since he seemed to have been glued to his spot.

"Beth?" Maggie's voice trembles. "You okay?"

The blonde's head snaps up, she tersely nodding at her sister before she pulls herself to her full height and peers over her shoulder with determination. "Don't cheer just yet," she says, voice void. "More are coming." One.. two..  _three_  demons then appear from the shadows, slowly approaching the group from the end of the street. "Carol, take Judith and hunker down in the truck. Keep a blade in hand."

No one blames Carol for sprinting to the truck with Judith clutched tightly to her chest. Beth squares her shoulders and steps over the demon's unmoving form, and Sam and Dean take their place on either side of her- all with their blades glinting in hand. Three demons turn into seven.. then  _eleven_ and the group behind the front line try their best to shove their fear aside.

A nearly inaudible sound sounds behind the group, half of them turning and cursing as they relay to Dean and Sam that there are at least five more demons behind them.

"There's too many," Rick voices. "We're not ready for this type of fight."

"No one ever really is," Sam admits. "Not everyone will have powers and they will rely on hand-to-hand. Don't be afraid stab 'em 'cause they won't be afraid to snap your neck given the chance now that we've killed their friend."

Sam's little speech does nothing to squash anyone's fear, in fact, he only makes them more anxious. Rick, Abraham, and Rosita join the Winchesters and Beth in staring down one group while the others stare down the other group of demons at their back.

"What are they waiting for?" Michonne wonders.

"They're scopin' us out," Dean grunts. "Tryin' to psyche us out."

"Wh-what is that?" Glenn then mutters. "That is  _not_  a normal storm cloud."

Sam, Dean, Abraham, Rick, and Rosita whirl around to see what Glenn's talking about- Dean and Sam both cursing as the enormous black cloud swirls towards them as lightning strikes within the cloud.

"Demons," the brothers answer simultaneously. "Everyone surround the truck. Now!" Dean barks, wanting to keep the kid inside safe since he had a secret soft spot for them.

Everyone rushes to the truck, surrounding the vehicle with a terrified Carol and whimpering Judith inside. Beth is the last to join the group, she walking slowly and carefully as she eyes the demons with distaste when they start closing the distance between them.

"How do we do this?" Daryl grumbles. "Up close and personal don't seem too smart."

"It's the only way."

The moment the demons get too close, Beth gasps and her blade slips from her grasp only to clatter on the ground. "W-what.. is that.. feeling?"

Turning around, eyes widen all around as they stare at Beth. Her pupils are glowing a dim white-blue, the glow slowly spreading. Fingers now tingling, Beth raises her hands in front of her to see that they're starting to glow the same color.

"Shit." Dean mutters.

"Uh, Dean?" Rick grumbles. "What- what.."

"Just let it happen," Dean says, ignoring Rick and keeping his focus on Beth who looks to be getting worried as the glow gets brighter. "Your angel mojo's gonna help us out. Let it happen."

Beth nods frantically, still staring at her hands even as the demons stop no further than a couple yards away. "Down! Everyone down and cover your eyes," Dean then calls out to the group. "Trust us, don't open your eyes until we tell you and you," he catches Carol's attention through the driver side window. "-cover the baby with your body on the seat. She's gonna cry and struggle but it's for her own good. Shield her eyes and yours as well. Things are about to get really bright."

"Guys," Beth calls out, voice shaking. "Do it. Do it now! It's getting stronger!"

No one wastes another second, everyone dropping to the ground and facing the truck while either tucking their head as close to their chest as possible or just shutting and covering their eyes as Sam had said. The demons lunge, thinking that the group is at their most vulnerable but Beth suddenly exploding with grace halts them in their steps. Some try to flee but they're caught no matter what, terrified and agonized screams piercing the air.

It's all over within seven seconds, Beth's own scream having mingled with those of the demons. So when eerie silence reigns over the crouched humans, everyone's quite worried when they're finally back on their feet and looking around only to find Beth unconscious- the various demons scattered about in front of them on the ground and unmoving.

"Beth?!" Maggie screams and immediately dashes towards her.

"What the hell was that light?" Abraham voices. "I saw it still with my eyes clamped shut and hands covering them."

Glenn and Daryl rush to Maggie's side as does Dean to aide Beth while Sam lingers back to answer Abraham. "That was what is called a smiting- an angel's grace being too pure for any sight to behold. If you go look at the downed demons, you'll see that their eye sockets are burned out."

Abraham hesitates before going to check the demons as told, Rosita and Tara following at his side. Kicking one of demons over, Abraham snorts because sure enough their eyes are missing and their sockets are scorched black.

"Holy shit," Rosita breathes in shocked awe, tension easing out of her frame now that the threat has been taken care of. "-you guys really were telling the truth."

"Well, yeah," Dean grunts from his position where he's checking over Beth. "What, you thought we were lyin'?"

"I thought you were crazy! I thought we were playing along with whatever you guys said just so we'd have shelter in the end. I wasn't actually counting on demons being real or that Maggie's little sister was actually a fucking angel!"

"Yeah, well, welcome to the big league." Dean checks Beth's vital signs, sighing a moment later before standing tall as Maggie cradles her sister's head in her lap. "She's not wakin' up anytime soon. We need to find a place to settle down before we move again."

"What's wrong with her?" Maggie wonders tearfully.

"Too much too soon," Dean shrugs. "She mentioned- before we found you- that she'd been warned that her powers would take a bit to settle. I'm guessin' smitin' so many black-eyed dicks drained her. She just needs to rest."

"The hardware store seems ideal," Tara- ever the shy one suddenly steps up. "When we were searching in there, I came across numerous sleeping bags. It also shouldn't be hard to barricade our self in there with the supplies they keep in the back."

"Sounds good, short-stack." Tara grins at Dean's nickname for her, chuckling softly as she looks away and he gives his attention to the rest of the lingering group. "Looks like we're spendin' the night here. Take Beth an' get her settled. Sammy an' I will move the demons out of here."

"We'll help," Rick rasps, nodding towards Abraham, Daryl, Michonne, and Sasha to step forward. "We owe you for helpin' us out just now."

"You don't owe us anything but thanks for the help," Sam grins.

Eugene helps Glenn pick up Beth so they can carry her into the hardware store, and Father Gabriel follows closely while muttering a prayer over the drained angel. Carol then slowly exits the truck with Judith after seeing there's no longer a threat, and Rick directs her to the store after briefly explaining their plan for the night.

As the small group starts moving bodies further away from their location for the night, Tara, Maggie, and Noah keep watch with their weapons ready just in case something were to happen. And it's only when they're nearly done does Daryl break away with the excuse of picking up their scavenged food from the convenient store. Tara volunteers to go with him but before they can get too far, Sam stops them.

"Hey, uh, if you find salt, bring it all."

"Salt? What you gonna do with salt?" Daryl snorts. "Season the beans?"

Dean huffs a laugh, loading up a body over his shoulder and Sam frowns. "Uh, no. We use salt to line the doors and windows. It keeps out demons."

Daryl's smirk falls and it's Tara's turn to be slightly amused. "I'll look for the salt. Let's go, Dixon."

**XxX**

All dead demons are hidden between two buildings- in case others were to come looking for their friends- and the first thing Dean does when he enters the hardware store is look for the spray paint aisle. Everyone's gathered around an unconscious Beth- Glenn and Maggie having found some plywood sheets in the back room large enough to board up the windows.

Daryl and Tara soon return with baskets of what food they had found, and another basket full of salt that Tara presents Sam with. He quickly gives his thanks, opening up a container of it and rushing to the nearest window. As he lines the windows with the white crystallized grains, he can hear Daryl gruffly explaining to everyone else why he's doing what he's doing. And after the windows and front entrance are lined, Sam helps Glenn and Maggie barricade themselves in.

The clinking of a tiny ball beating against the inside of a metal can sounds, everyone turning to Dean when the hissing of a spray can sounds next.

"What's he doing?" Sasha frowns, watching as Dean paints weird symbols underneath welcome mats.

"They're called devil's traps," Sam answers her. "Good for trapping demons and neutralizing their powers. Those are our second line of defense in case a demon stumbles upon us again and manages to get inside." Once dried, Dean throws the mats right-side up by the entrance and the back room door. Then finding a ladder in one of the aisles, Dean sets up by the windows and sprays devil's traps on the ceiling above the windows before moving to paint some over the doors as well. "And now he's painting the ceiling because some demons are smart enough to kick aside the mats but not look up."

The group only settles once the hissing of Dean's spray can ceases, they having cleared away a large enough area so everyone could be near each other and not spread out through different aisles. Beth's lying on a cushion of several sleeping bags and the others are just sitting around and catching their breath as reality sinks further in.

The silence takes a turn for the uncomfortable when Dean sighs for the umpteenth time, all the glaring in the world from Daryl and Abraham doing nothing to phase the Winchester. But that could also be because one of Dean's favorite pass times is riling up anybody and seeing that he's got two hooked, he can't help but sigh again.

"Alright," Abraham snarls when he can't take it anymore, attempting to climb to his feet with his fierce gaze settled on Dean but Rosita pulls him down to keep him in place. "That's enough!"

Dean chuckles and Sam kicks out at his brother- his  _cut it out_ expression directed at him. "Aw, come on, Sammy. I'm just trying to have some fun."

"They're tired and still trying to come to terms about our world," Sam shakes his head. "Let them ponder in peace."

Dean huffs but quiets down, climbing to his feet only to leap on the counter top just a few feet away and stretch out on it with his hands tucked beneath the back of his head. The group falls silent once more but it's a surprising question from Carl that breaks it.

"So what's the scariest monster you guys ever faced?" Everyone stares at Carl, not believing he just asked that. "What?" He then shrugs. "We got to pass the time somehow."

Some people shift uncomfortably though they don't deny his excuse, half the group's attention then being divided between Sam and Dean. The brothers then share a quick look and then Dean's sitting back up with a tired sigh.

"Well, I think I speak for Sammy as well when I say that Lucifer is the scariest of them all. The power he has, it's unbelievable. He's gonna be a hard- pardon my french, padre," he says while briefly glancing at Father Gabriel. "-but he's gonna be a tough sonuvabitch to trick into his cage again."

The group looks uncomfortable hearing about Lucifer so Sam's quick to change the subject to a different monster. "Wendigos are pretty scary, too. They're about seven to eight feet tall with leathery skin stretched tight over their bones. They, uh, they hunt people in the woods and move so fast that you can't see them until it's too late. Dean, actually, got taken by one and I had to save him."

All eyes turn to Dean and he shrugs nonchalantly. "We were helping a civilian sibling duo out. Their older brother went missing but instead of staying put, they wanted to come with. The wendigo found us in the woods and circled us, tricking the little brother into thinking it was his brother by mimicking his voice."

"They can do that?" Carl nearly murmurs.

"Yep. They're not something you ever want to run across. And with the world how it is now, I'm afraid more and more wendigos are being made without them even realizing it."

"What do mean they're being made?" Glenn gulps. "Aren't monsters born just like everything else?"

"A majority of monsters start off as human or appear human; ghosts, werewolves, vampires, dragons, witches.." Dean shakes his head. "But wendigos- wendigos are just your average human beings who result to eating human flesh that corrupts it's soul and turns it into the monster."

The group turns somber at the mention of cannibals and as the brothers pick up on it, it's Rosita who tells them. "We were led into a false sense of security at a camp called Terminus. The people were cannibals and we were their hostages."

"I'm sorry to hear that," Sam tells them. "I'm glad you got out."

"What happened to the camp?" Dean wonders. "I hope you burned it down with those people inside."

"Somethin' like that," Daryl smirks as he stares at Carol. "Lil' Miss Badass over there blew up one of the gas tanks which took down a fence. Walkers got in, chaos ensued, we fought off our captors and we left."

"Not all of them died, though," Sasha speaks up and shocked gazes turn to her. "A few of them plus their leader hunted us down. They took Bob, ate his leg, and sent him back to his us with a walker bite on his shoulder."

"Sonuva-" Dean swears, looking the most apologetic any of them have seen so far. "Sorry 'bout bringin' that up."

"It's fine," Sasha mutters, avoiding everyone's gaze now. "It's not like we didn't finally put all of them out of their pathetic excuse of existence anyway."

An awkward silence falls over them, but Sam's quick to save the night by telling the group of the hunts that ended up being really funny like when Dean had to face his fear of flying on a plane with a ghost that kept bringing planes down. Or when Dean caught ghost sickness and screamed like a little girl at the sight of a cat. But then Dean turned the tables by telling them of Sam's pout because of his lost shoe or of Sam's fear of clowns which resulted in Sam spewing some facts about a lot of people having that phobia and his fear was totally plausible.

All in all, the two brothers manage to calm the group long enough just so the tension finally dissipates.

* * *

Come morning, Beth is still unconscious. Only a few members of the group had gotten some shut-eye but the others had stayed up because there was no way their minds would shut off after they had come face to face with demons and witnessed an angel smiting.

There's a bit of a rough discussion about what they should do now- whether they are going to stay in the store and wait for Beth to wake or if they are just propping her up in the backseat of the car with Maggie and Glenn. But in the end, Dean gets his way and they stay a little longer.

Abraham grumbles and then makes a fuss about needing another vehicle because the bed of the truck was already a tight squeeze and there was no way they were going to make the trip to Kansas like that. Dean tells him to do whatever he wants and after Rick makes sure that Abraham doesn't wander too far, the redheaded man recruits Rosita and Michonne in helping him find a decent vehicle, and to siphon some gas.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, ladies and gents, how am I doing with this?
> 
> Sadly, I've run out of chapters to update with. But, I do have a list of upcoming chapters and what I want to happen in said chapters. I'm just having a bit of a rough time putting words down on the document and filling out an entire chapter. While I work out more details, I'll be working on my soulmate ficlets :)
> 
> Don't worry, though. I have no plans to give this up. Updates will just be a little slower. Sorry!


	8. Chapter 8

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As I said before, updates will be slow. But hey, this one didn't take too long, huh? I finished this at 3 this morning and now here I am editing and posting :) I am literally writing one chapter for this and then one chapter for something else. Ping-ponging between 2 stories suckksss but I must do what I must do.

When Beth finally comes to, she comes to slowly. She blinks blankly, staring up at the ceiling and letting the feeling of  _safety_ wash over her as her body slowly releases pent up tension. There's a pressure clutching onto her left hand and when she cranes her neck to follow the hand that's squeezing her own, she finds Maggie sitting next to her and looking out around the room.

"Maggie?" she rasps, tongue feeling thick.

Immediately, Maggie's head turns down to face her. "Beth? Y-you're awake. Are you feeling okay?"

"I'm.. fine," the blonde manages to say. Beth attempts to sit up, face scrunching as every muscle protests against the movement.

"Don't!" Maggie's eyes widen, releasing her sister's hand only to push her back down gently by the shoulder. "Don't. Just.. wait." And then glancing back up, Maggie peers around them before spotting who she's looking for. "Sam!"

Beth winces at the noise level and then manages to prop herself up on her elbows, she blinking slowly until the room stops spinning and her sight is no longer blurry. There are fast approaching footsteps and then Sam's looming form is crouching to her right. "Hey, Beth, how are you feeling?" he asks calmly.

She makes eye contact with him, her nose scrunching up as she stretches her neck from left to right. "Like I've been run over," she mutters. "Everything.. everything feels sore," she then sighs.

Others from the group are gathering around now, Carol toting around Judith as she lingers behind Maggie, and Father Gabriel watching on as if he's too afraid to approach any closer.

"Yeah," Sam chuckles nervously. "You used too much too soon. Your powers haven't fully come in yet so it kind of knocked you on your butt when you smited all those demons yesterday."

Beth grimaces and pushes herself to fully sit up, and Maggie hovers but with a reassuring smile from her little sister, she backs off. "That was only yesterday? It feels longer."

"Yeah. Dean and I figured you'd be out all day but I guess not. You bounced back pretty quick."

"Looks like. What time is it? You shouldn't have stayed in one place on my account."

"Uh," Sam stammers. Standing to his full height, he looks around and shrugs. "Some time after noon," he guesses. "And we just didn't stay for you," he then admits. "Abraham figured we needed another vehicle because he didn't think they could make it to the Bunker all cramped in the bed of the truck."

"Oh."

There's a lull in conversation and then Tara peeks around one of the aisles, sheepishly. "We found some other camping supplies in the back- some pots and pans- and managed to cook up a lunch outside. Anyone hungry?"

Every gaze immediately slides to Beth- the blonde feeling all the stares and she shrugs with a feeble grin. "Sure. I could use some fresh air."

Maggie and Sam move to help Beth stand, and once steady on her own two feet, Beth slowly makes her way outside with the group.

**xXx**

Lunch outside under the blaring sun isn't exactly comfortable, and well, not exactly filling.

Beth had noticed that her first couple spoonfuls of rice and beans were the most delicious thing she'd tasted in a while, and then.. nothing. It turned bland within minutes and her stomach felt hollow, but not in an uncomfortable way. She just wasn't hungry.

Ellen's words had then floated to the forefront of her mind- the fact that once her powers settle she'll no longer need sustenance or sleep- and she sighs for what feels like the hundredth time since she's woken, and passes her bowl of food Daryl who had taken the least amount when he served himself. He tries to protest but when Beth explains her reasoning for not eating any more, he caves and accepts her leftovers. She then tries to drink some water but even that does nothing so she recaps the bottle and sets it back down.

**xXx**

"How 'ya feelin', Kid?"

Beth glances up, one hand raising and blocking the sun's rays from her eyes, and huffs with a shake of her head and a grin on her lips. "Kid? What happened to calling me Beth?"

Dean shrugs and takes a seat on the hood of the abandoned car she'd been leaning against. "We all have our slip-ups. And besides, you looked like a kid when you were passed out so  _Kid_ you are until further notice."

"If you say so, Dean-o."

Chuckling, he punches Beth's shoulder lightly and then looks out to where the others are milling about the front of the hardware store they'd been holed up in. "So you feelin' alright? Sammy said you felt like you were ran over when you first woke."

"I'm fine." And to prove her point, Beth stretches her arms out in front of her and wiggles her fingers. "I just needed to be up and about instead of lying down on the hard floor."

"Uh-huh." The duo lapse into a comfortable silence, their gazes following Sasha, Tara, and Glenn who are keeping watch atop the rooftops of the surrounding buildings. "We'll be hittin' the road in a couple hours," Dean then tells her. "Abe was given a time limit to search for his vehicle so get a bit more rest if you can."

"Sure thing, Winchester."

Dean smirks and pushes off the car. "See you in a bit, Kid."

A few minutes of lonely silence pass before Beth hops onto the hood of the car, and then a throat is being cleared just behind her. Glancing back, Beth finds Noah sheepishly and awkwardly standing there.

"Hey, Noah, how are you doing?"

He chuckles nervously and shrugs, hesitantly taking a step forward. "Shouldn't I be asking you that?"

"I'm fine if that's what you were wondering." She gestures for him to join her on the hood but instead, he merely walks closer and leans against the vehicle.

Noah stares off in the distance so Beth just basks in the presence and silent company of another friend. After a few more moments though, Noah sighs and then turns to face her. "I'm sorry, you know."

Confused, Beth frowns. "For?"

"For leaving you at the hospital when we tried to escape. I should have gone back for you."

As Noah's words sink in, Beth's shoulders slump and she smiles sadly with a shake of her head. "I was happy when you got away. You shouldn't be sorry."

"Yeah but maybe if I'd gone back, you wouldn't have died."

"If you had gone back," Beth makes sure to tell him. "Then  _you_ would have died. You had taken the blame one too many times for me and they would have killed you, Noah."

"Better me than you."

"Do you really think that?" Noah shifts uncomfortably and Beth sighs but continues to explain. "If it hadn't been me, would we even be here right now? I know you wouldn't be because Dawn would have kept you at the hospital. We wouldn't know about angels, demons, and monsters, and we wouldn't be travelling with the Winchesters to right this crazy mess."

Noah gulps and mulls over Beth's words, he eventually just nodding along as he realizes that she's right.

**xXx**

Growing bored and restless just sitting atop the hood of a car, Beth slides down and stretches- cracking her back and neck. The soreness is all gone and she feels.. well. She feels fine- energetic almost- and she can't help but grin.

Her grace is settling and though she's not exactly sure how to tap into it, she can feel and hear the thrum of it if she concentrates just so.

Judith's cries startle Beth from her realization, the blonde then searching for the baby only to find her in Carl's arms as he bounces her to keep her entertained and to possibly shush her. Beth then decides to head in their direction, smiling as she gets closer and ducks into the shade with them. "Mind if I..?" she says, trailing off but holding out her arms to show that she wanted to hold the baby.

Carl doesn't hesitate, he handing his sister over with an amused, "Go for it. You were always better at keeping her calm."

The blonde smiles as she adjusts Judith in her arms, the baby's eyes red-rimmed and watery- warnings of near hysterics. "Hey there, pretty girl," Beth coos, swaying from left to right. "You've gotten so big! It's been a while since you've seen me so here's to hoping you remember me."

Judith starts to sniffle and her bottom lip trembles, and Carl sighs. "Dammit."

"No, no. None of that," Beth says to Judith. "It's okay, baby girl. You know me." Still swaying, Beth adds a dramatic dip with every sway and eventually, Judith's sniffles turn into giggles and gurgles with the swoop in her belly.

Carl sighs and then chuckles in relief.

"Well would you look at that," Dean's voice just oozes amusement. He and Daryl exit the hardware store, both men stopping at the sight of Beth and a giggling baby. "You're actually pretty good with the rugrat."

Daryl scoffs and adjusts the strap of his crossbow on his shoulder. "She should be. Everyone's had a hand in takin' care of Lil' Asskicker but Beth's practically that girl's momma." With an acknowledging nod and brief smirk when Beth smiles at him, Daryl keeps on walking in hopes of probably running into Rick.

Beth sees Carl's solemn expression from the archer's words so she's quick to remedy the situation, but only waiting until Daryl's out of ear shot so she doesn't make anyone feel bad. "There's no doubt in my mind that Judith will wonder who her mother is seeing as I'll be here to tell her stories of what a wonderful mother Lori had been."

Calling Lori a wonderful mother is a bit of a stretch- she remembers the gossip going around their group about Rick possibly not even being Judith's father, and Lori constantly losing sight of Carl- but the woman is long gone and there's no reason to let her daughter know all about that. So yes, in order to keep things peaceful, she's willing to paint Lori in the most wonderful light if it'll make Rick and Carl happy. And if Carl's grateful smile is anything to go by, then she knows she's said the right thing.

Judith's happy now, speaking gibberish and looking around her surroundings. And when her gaze lands on Dean and stays there, the Hunter can't help but smile and make faces.

He draws a few smiles from the little girl and eventually, the urge to hold her wins out. He doesn't ask- he just reaches in and hooks his hands under Judith's arms to pull her into a steady grip- she then being held with one arm while Dean uses his free hand to boop her on the nose and make cooing noises right back at her. Beth and Carl stare at each other- amusement clearly dancing in their eyes- and they're both angling their bodies towards Dean, and smirking.

And feeling the stares on him, Dean finally glances at the two teenagers and quickly scowls. He stops bouncing Judith and manages to pass her back to Carl who takes her with a chuckle, and then he's pointing an accusing finger at them. "Tell anyone you saw that and I'll gank 'ya."

**xXx**

Soon enough- meaning before Daryl can get agitated and complain about wasting precious sunlight- Abraham, Rosita, and Michonne return with obvious good news.

Pulling up in a dirtied silver station wagon, Abraham brags about how they managed to find a couple of gas canisters and hit the jackpot with a couple of cars that had more than enough gas to siphon from. Dean and Rick are then quick to round up the rest of their group, a majority of them jogging back to the hardware store to pick up their found camping equipment (tents, sleeping bags, and cooking equipment) in case they have to make an overnight stop again, and their food. Everything's then easily packed away in the very back of the station wagon, and then seating arrangements are called out before they load up.

Dean, Sam, Beth, and Maggie take the lead in the Impala; Rick follows by driving the truck with Judith and Carol in the cab with him, and Daryl, Michonne, Noah, Carl, Sasha, Glenn, and Father Gabriel in the bed; and Abraham pulls up the rear with Rosita, Eugene, and Tara in the wagon.

They drive well into the night, Beth peering over the front seat to look at the map in Sam's lap. They've made great progress for having a late start, and are passing the border into Tennessee when the roads start getting clogged again.

"I think we might have to stop again," Dean tiredly yawns. "Y'think the others will be up for it?"

"They might if you can find shelter," Maggie shrugs. "I know we have tents but.."

"We're not camping out in the open," Beth says. Three sets of eyes dart to Beth's form- Beth who's staring out her window and scanning the shadows. "Drive into a neighborhood. We'll clear out a house."

Nothing more is said and when Maggie and Sam turn to stare at Dean, Dean shrugs and sighs. "If the angel says to do something, we'll do it. She's the one with the best sense out of all of us right now."

It doesn't take them long to find a neighborhood- nor does it take three out of the four Impala's occupants to realize that Beth seems.. different. She's not as talkative as she had been during the day and it's almost as if she's void of any and all emotion. Dean and Sam have seen this before but it's odd to see this young girl like that.

In the small amount of time they'd known Beth, they'd gotten used to her small smiles and tinkling laugh. But now that she's quiet and stoic and a lot like Cas when he first appeared, they're not sure how to take angel!Beth. Semi-powered Beth was pretty decent and her group didn't seemed weirded out by her, but now that it seems her powers have fully come in and settled, they're not sure how her group or sister is going to react when they realize it.

"Stop here," Beth says.

Dean comes to a sudden stop and Beth climbs out of the car before anything can be said. Maggie scrambles after her, and then Dean and Sam are sighing and climbing out of the car after Dean cuts the engine.

Beth looks around the small neighborhood they've found, something about the house in front of her putting her on edge but also feeling as if this was the safest place to stop for the night. She barely registers Sam and Dean telling Maggie that they were going to inform the others of their stop for the night, and Maggie's touching her arm and bringing her from her thoughts.

"Beth? You okay?"

The blonde startles but quickly pulls herself together and nods. "I'm good. Just.. thinking."

"About?"

"Everything." Maggie frowns at her sister's vague answer, she mentally groaning as Beth walks forward without anyone escorting her. The neighborhood is a decent one, very few cars having been left behind, and once the group's gathered and waiting for Beth's word, the small blonde turns around to address them. "Bring the vehicles in closer and park them around back, and then clear a perimeter around the house a good ways out. If there's a walker problem, call for backup. If there's something strange, then get Dean, Sam, or myself. Clear?"

"Sounds like a solid plan," Rick nods, voicing his thoughts before Abraham can protest. For some reason, that man did not take orders well.

"What are you gonna be doin'?" Daryl asks after having seen Beth glance over her shoulder for the third time.

"I'm going to clear the house."

"By yourself?" Glenn wonders.

"Yeah."

"You sure that's wise?"

"It's fine." She faintly sighs and glances at the house once more, twitching uncomfortably before looking out to the group. "Better me than any of you. I can- I can sense some dead ones inside," she tells them, almost sheepishly. And at this, Dean grows confused.

Angel!Cas was never like this. He was always over confident and never awkward. And the longer everyone stares at Beth, the more awkward and sheepish she becomes. It's.. refreshing to know that she won't become emotionless like most angels are.

"If there are walkers, you need backup." Rick tells her. "Abraham and Michonne can go with you."

"It'll be easier on my own," she quickly denies. "And besides, if my powers- my grace," she corrects. "-if it acts up again without warning, no one can be hurt."

"She'll be fine, Grimes," Dean voices. "The quicker we get things done, the sooner some of us can sleep."

There are few grumbled protests but no one makes a move to follow Beth when she strides toward the chosen house. Dean, Rick, and Tara move the vehicles, Carol takes Judith to wait on the porch, and everyone else grips a weapon in hand while circling the house and clearing a perimeter to make sure no dangers are lurking nearby.

It takes Beth ten minutes to make the house safe enough for the night, the five walkers inside proving to be an easy task for her. Though it makes her slightly uncomfortable, she manages to drag the three small walkers out the back door on her own. And since everyone else is still walking a perimeter, she waits until they come back to move the last two. So while she waits, she opens up all the windows to air out the space before calling Carol in.

Everyone eventually gets settled inside with some rations of their food after helping Beth haul out the last two dead walkers, and the group seems to all wind down together in the safety the home provides. Battery operated lanterns give off a soft glow so everyone can see what they're doing and where they're walking, and fatigue quickly sets in.

"I'll take watch," Beth tells them. "I'm not sleepy." And true to her word, Beth appears the most awake and alert out of everyone. "I won't tell you all to get sleep because I know some of you will fight me-" Dean and Daryl snort, and Dean's the one to motion for her to continue when she stares at them. "-but I will ask that anyone who plans on driving come day break get their rest now."

"Dibs on a bed," Dean immediately calls, smirking proudly. "No one besides me drives Baby."

Maggie, Glenn, and Tara all chuckle along, and then Rosita's raising her hand as if seeking permission to speak. "I can drive the wagon. I'm really tired so I wouldn't mind the sleep."

"And I'll drive the truck," Michonne volunteers.

Dean's the only one who seems comfortable enough to sleep away from the group so he heads upstairs, and Michonne and Rosita happily unroll a couple of sleeping bags and spread them out in the dining room that's connected to the living room where everyone else is gathered.

Seeing Carl nodding off on the sofa, Rick stands with Judith in his arms. "I can use a bit of rest," he says, kicking Carl's shoes to wake him. "Come on, son, lets head upstairs."

Beth watches as the little family trudges upstairs, leaving herself, Maggie, Glenn, Father Gabriel, Eugene, Carol, Noah, Abraham, Sasha, Tara, Sam, and Daryl lingering about.

"Well if we're getting comfortable," Tara huffs, standing up from the floor and dropping herself in Carl's vacated seat. "-I'm getting comfortable." She sits with her back against the arm rest and kicks her feet up into Eugene's lap, the others chuckling at the man's obvious discomfort and fear of pushing off Tara's feet.

"I-If no one minds," Father Gabriel shakily voices. "I'll nap in the arm chair."

Smiling reassuringly at the Father, Glenn motions him to it. "All yours. If anyone's else is wanting sleep, Maggie and I can go get some more sleeping bags from the car."

"Well if the angel's keeping watch," Sasha shrugs. "I'll take a bag. We have to take the sleep where we can get it."

"Same," Abraham huffs, stifling a yawn.

"Me, too, please," Carol sheepishly asks and Noah gestures that he'd take one as well.

Maggie and Glenn head out to go retrieve more sleeping bags to spread out around the house, and Beth points to the front door when Sam and Daryl stare at her. "I'll be on the porch."

**xXx**

The humidity outside is think and damp, but Beth doesn't seem fazed by it. The insects and birds are restless, and the blonde perches herself on the railing while leaning her back against one of the support beams.

Nearly half an hour on her own, the quiet is finally disturbed by the screen door creaking open.

When Beth looks to see who dared disrupt their peace, she finds Sam and Daryl walking out one right after the other. There's a porch swing that Sam carefully lowers himself onto and Daryl props himself against the railing a couple feet from where Beth's perched.

Her gaze darts between the two men, face blank.

"You're fully settled now, aren't you?" Sam blurts, keeping his voice down. "You're an angel through and through? I've noticed the changes here and there since we've picked you up on the side of the road."

Beth shrugs, and gives a little sigh. "I don't know how to do anything with this grace of mine," she tells him. "The only thing that happens without me even trying is the way I'm able to sense danger or safety. Everything else..? Everything else is new and scary."

"Why d'you say that?" Daryl mumbles.

"Because I feel  _everything_.. and  _nothing_ at the same time."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Dun. Dun. Dun. Beth's gone all angelic, huh? I didn't mean to take away her emotions so much, it just happened, but don't worry, she'll be all sorted out soon enough. I know all angels seem cold and distant and don't really care about anything but I'm going to make Beth different and keep Cas an adorkable angel. At least, I'm going to try to.
> 
> And as for this chapter, I know it seemed like a filler 'cause that's what it is and fair warning, so will half of chapter nine. Up next, the story will pick up with the gang in Missouri where they run into some unexpected guests ;)


	9. Chapter 9

**Chapter Set** : [Polyvore](http://www.polyvore.com/call_for_help/set?id=168951386)

*

The drive through Tennessee is pretty much uneventful.

Since everyone wants to get to the safety of Sam and Dean's bunker, they drive right on through for as long as they can- only stopping to switch out drivers, siphon gas from forgotten vehicles, or to scavenge food and clothing from small-town shops that didn't seem to have been ransacked. Luck had apparently been on their side, the group finding much needed barely expired baby food and much needed diapers for Judith, as well as some of articles of clothing for the ones who weren't feeling too fresh.

Driving through the night had not been a comfortable experience, especially when they came upon blocked roads and had to find a way around said obstacles in the dead of the night, but with Beth on watch and the Winchesters on their side, the group was able to find a way through.

Food had been divided up between the three vehicles to make the stops less frequent, and eventually, Maggie grew restless being cooped up in the backseat of the Impala and joined Glenn in the bed of the truck when she let it sink in that Beth wasn't going anywhere. And since there weren't too many people who were comfortable with the Winchesters as of late, Daryl was the only one to volunteer and take the fourth seat in the Impala when the brother's voiced the option.

The second the group crosses the border into Missouri, Beth becomes alert. Sam, Dean, and Daryl had adjusted to the feeble grins and barely there laughter but when the seriousness of Beth's expressions and matter-of-fact directions become sterner as the time passes, they know something's up.

Beth ends up leading them to a two-story shopping mall of all places, her attention solely focused on the building and the empty parking lot.

"Uh, Beth," Dean says, driving slowly across the lot. "I've trusted your judgement so far but I don't think a shopping trip during the not really-Apocalypse is really appropriate."

"We're not shopping," she mumbles. "There are people inside."

"What?" The car comes to a sudden halt, and Dean twists in his seat. "Don't get me wrong, kid, I wanna help as much as I can-"

"But there's not enough room at the bunker," Sam finishes with a frown. "And besides, we can't drag anymore civilians into this mess."

Beth gives a faint sigh and Daryl huffs. "'sides, who's to tell they ain't gonna start a fight with us and take our supplies?"

"The redneck has a point," Dean then smirks, chuckling as Daryl glares at him. "I really don't feel like getting into a fight especially since we got kids to look out for now."

"No," Beth shakes her head, frowning. "They're- just.. trust me." She clicks open the door and pushes it open, climbing out before Daryl can reach over to pull her back in. Her fingers are barely peeking out from the sleeves of her green military cotton jacket, her boot clad feet cautiously thumping along the heated asphalt of the parking lot.

A couple more doors slam shut and as Beth peers behind her, she finds the Winchesters, Daryl, Rick, Maggie, Michonne, Glenn, and Abraham warily watching her.

"What's going on?" she hears Rick ask but Dean's there already answering so Beth trains her gaze forward once more.

The gray brick building is nothing special, the first floor windows and doors having been boarded over. Up above, the second story floor to ceiling windows have what appears to be sheets hanging over them, and all store name signs have faded and fallen off.

Beth's still eyeing the building a bit suspiciously, her instincts telling- not  _warning-_ of the people inside. But the more she concentrates on the familiar feeling of other living souls lingering about- the more she realizes that they're not really souls at all.

The front door creaks open and immediately, Beth's angel blade slides into her hand from her jacket sleeve. The murmuring behind her ceases instantaneously, and then the Winchesters, Daryl, and Michonne are flanking the young blonde within seconds.

A dark skinned woman with hair buzzed down to her scalp peeks out from the opened door, gaze darting from every figure standing before her sanctuary. Something about the woman tugs at the edges of Beth's mind, but the blonde angel doesn't pursue the feeling and instead chooses to watch the woman very carefully. Even more curious, the dark skinned woman finally steps out further and her hands readily move out in front of her- her palms facing the strangers- to show she's no threat.

"Beth," Rick calls out. "-put the blade down. The woman's not armed and we don't want to appear as the threat."

The dark skinned woman scans the gathered crowd again now that she's closer, her eyes seeming to widen just a fraction when she stares at the Winchesters and then on Beth herself. "So the chatter is true," she says, voice surprisingly soft and airy. "We have a new sister."

"Fuck," Dean mutters.

Hands clamp down on Beth's shoulders instantaneously, Sam and Dean dragging her back as their own angel blades appear from out of nowhere. "Who are you?" Sam asks.

The woman's hands raise a little higher and she offers them a friendly smile. "My name is Ramiel.. and I'm an Angel of the Lord."

"Well that's just peachy," Dean tells her. "But really, we should be going. Things to do, people to see, you know how it is. Come on, Beth, lets go."

Dean tries to drag the blonde away, but she merely pulls free from his grasp. "No. Ramiel," she says the name slowly, head tilting to the side. "-she..  _they_  mean no harm."

"You sure 'bout that?" Daryl grumbles.

"Pretty sure."

"Yeah, well excuse us for not quite believing you," Dean snarks. "We've dealt with these feathered dicks for a while and they're pretty good liars."

"I assure you, Dean Winchester," Ramiel speaks again. "My brothers, sisters, and I just want to help. It's why we're here and not at Home."

"It's- it's the truth," Beth says as if just realizing the truth behind the angel's words. "The closer we got to this place, the stronger the pull I felt to it. If they meant harm, I'm sure I'd have us driven in the opposite direction."

Ramiel's smile blossoms, pearly white teeth nearly blinding but Sam frowns. "They? There are more angels here?"

"Yes," Ramiel answers. "Come with me inside and I'll take you to who's in charge. There's a storm brewing and we'll promise you a safe haven for the night."

Ramiel backs up a few steps, never turning her back on the newcomers and Beth bites her bottom lip in contemplation.

"Do we trust her?" Rick can be heard asking someone.

"It could be a trap." Daryl mutters.

But Beth knows better. At least, she knows more than those who don't have grace swimming in their very being. Ramiel, though this is Beth's first time meeting her, is familiar. Every entity that she can feel moving about inside the building are familiar and their combined grace pulsate with a certain comfort of safety.

"We'll stay," Beth soon blurts and there's more cursing of disbelief behind her. "-but my people will remain armed for their peace of mind."

"That will be acceptable," Ramiel nods once in understanding. "When you're ready," she says, gaze darting to the humans behind Beth. "-I'll be waiting inside for you. There's a loading port out back that will shield your vehicles if need be as well."

As soon as Ramiel disappears inside, Beth turns to her gathered group and watches as the rest of everyone else quickly scrambles from the vehicle.

"You sure this is a good idea?" Abraham huffs. "How many angels are inside, anyway?"

"Plenty," Beth tells him. "-and yes, we need to stop." She can feel the atmosphere charging, Ramiel's words ringing true about a storm brewing. "There's indeed a storm coming in and it's going to be rough one. We'll sit tight for the night and continue on in the morning."

"If we live through the morning."

Beth's gaze darts to Dean, a smirk tilting the corner of her lips upward. "Suck it up, Winchester. At least you have your angel blade."

The group all shift uncomfortably, Rick then catching up everyone else about Ramiel and the fact that she was an angel. More of the angel blades make an appearance as guns get holstered but Beth's blade finds it's way back up her sleeve. And when they're ready, Beth's the one to lead them inside the mall only to find Ramiel waiting for them just on the other side of the doors with a pleasant smile. And though Ramiel's presence practically demands attention, it's the people behind and up above Ramiel that catches everyone's attention. There's at least thirty or so people milling about- people of all shapes, sizes, and race. It's surprisingly cool inside of the mall given the hot and muggy atmosphere outside, and people are watching Beth and her group with cautious eyes as Ramiel leads them further into the building.

"So who's the one in charge?" Dean asks, the swagger in his stride showing off confidence that the rest of their group is lacking. "Do we know 'im?"

"Just around the corner," Ramiel tells him.

She leads them into a furniture store where two women are standing guard- both women alert and cautious though they seem to smile and relax when they set eyes on Beth. "Sister," they greet in unison.

Beth startles but manages to return the greeting, adding a nod of acknowledgement and feeble grin. They're lead into the center of the store which a child- not an adult- sits staring blankly into nothingness. The kid has shaggy light-brown hair, and a lightly tanned complexion. Jackets layer his small upper torso and jeans fit loosely on his legs. His cheeks still have a pudgy roundness to them, and dull round eyes blink owlishly before he looks up at the visitors.

"Oh. Hello," he says.

Beth stares at the little boy but it's Daryl who snorts and interrupts the quiet that followed. "You're jokin', right?" he looks to Ramiel. And when Ramiel remains quiet, Daryl sneers. "You tellin' us that a kid's in charge of you?"

"We've not been children for a very long time, Mr. Dixon," Ramiel tells him. "Don't let our vessels fool you."

Daryl tenses and his hand twitches for his crossbow. "How do you know my name?"

And Ramiel being who she is, shrugs. "It's my job. Someone has to look deep into the souls of you children to determine whether or not your worthy to enter Heaven." There's a bunch of uneasy shifting and Ramiel allows herself to slowly smile. "Don't worry. Everyone here in this room has earned their clean slate. As long as you continue the path you're on now, you've got peace waiting for you when it's all over."

Several jaws drop open in shock- Father Gabriel included- and Ramiel merely takes a seat next to the one who appears to be a child.

"I am Archangel Ariel," the small boy speaks. "It's a pleasure to meet you, sister."

"And you.. brother," Beth gulps, her gaze flickering from Ariel and Ramiel. "I'm confused," she then admits, finally voicing the feeling that's been gnawing at her since she's sensed their presence. "Why are you here? I mean, I know some angels have Earth-bound themselves but.. why?"

"For the same reason the Winchesters are hunting Lucifer," Ariel grins. And then turning to said Winchesters, the boy nods. "Yes, we know of your plan. Just because we're Earth-bound doesn't mean we don't hear the angels talking. They've been buzzing with information ever since Father created a hybrid of sorts."

"A hybrid?" Beth frowns.

"You, of course," Ramiel says. "You're most definitely an angel but at the same time, you're not."

"How?"

"You  _feel,_ " Ramiel smiles. "Though it might not seem like it now, you're emotions are the same as you were human. I see it in you, sister. You're different. Special. It's what makes you a threat to our other brothers and sisters."

Dean and Daryl tense but sensing it, Ariel shakes his head at them. "Don't worry. The angels here are no harm to Beth. Every angel in this building is keeping a low profile and helping out when they find someone in need."

"Like you helped out your vessel?" Dean glowers. "As far as Sammy and I know, Archangels don't like hanging out down here with us mortals. So tell us, Ariel, was the kid dead when you took his body over or did you convince him to step aside?"

The small-like grin falls from Ariel's lips and he stands. And though he's a couple feet shorter than Dean, the boy still manages to show confidence and power no child should possess. "I saved little Connor. The boy was on the run with his group when he got separated because of the infected, and he was the only one smart enough to scale a tree for safety. Only the infected caught sight of him and wouldn't leave." Ariel glares at Dean and the Hunter has enough sense to back off. "Connor would have starved to death had Ramiel not found him. She saved him, she fed him, and when word got out that our newest sister and the Winchesters were trying to right the wrong of the world, she knew the Earth would need an Archangel.

"So after explaining to Connor everything that was going on and showing him a few things, the boy consented to being my vessel in exchange for a place in Heaven should things go south and he die."

"Should he die?" Rosita blurts. "Where the hell is the kid if you're in his body?!"

Several of the group glance around but Ariel merely taps the side of his head. "He sleeps most of the time," he tells them. "Even though I don't need the food, I feed his body to keep him healthy for when it's time for me to go home and he to return living his own life."

The group is silenced as they let Ariel's words sink in, the only sound being heard now is the faint howling of the wind outside. Having been under the impression of a strong storm brewing and on the way, the wind isn't really a surprise so Dean quickly gathers Abraham and Glenn to help him move the vehicles around back to the loading dock that Ramiel had mentioned earlier.

And once the group is back together in the furniture store, they're content to let Beth and the Winchesters deal with Ramiel and Ariel while the rest of them get some much needed rest as the storm rages outside.

* * *

Come morning, the angels plus the Winchesters, Rick, Daryl, and Glenn are the only ones awake. Everyone else had fallen asleep with their blades nearby, something in which Ariel and Ramiel had no problems with since the blades gave the others peace of mind.

Just as the group slowly start waking up, a couple of stoic angels come in with food that they leave on a table without a word before once again taking their leave. It takes Ariel assuring Beth that the food is theirs to eat before they're on their way to wherever it is their mission takes them for anyone to make a move. And once everyone's quietly eating, it's Dean who asks just where exactly they're at.

The name of the town means nothing to the group, but it's Sam who hums in thought as he gobbles down some nutrition bar. "We're only a day's drive away from home," he muses. "Probably a bit longer if the roads are cluttered."

"Well, at least we're close," Dean yawns. "I'm dying for a good night's sleep in my bed without worrying about demons sneaking up on us."

"If sleep is what you yearned, you could have slept with your friends," Ramiel tells him. "Our sanctuary up above is covered with sigils to keep the evil away. It is how we've been here for so long without demons sniffing us out."

Beth and Sam snicker at Dean's look of disbelief, and then again at his pout when he realizes he's being laughed at.

When all is eventually said and done, Ariel and Ramiel lead the group to a back entrance where the loading dock resides with their vehicles. Ariel leads with Beth at his side and Ramiel brings up the rear of the group.

No one hesitates to hurry to their respective vehicle, all except Beth, Daryl, and the Winchesters who linger a second longer next to Ariel when he reaches out and grasps Beth's wrist. "We wish you all the best on your travels, sister, and should you need assistance in the final battle, know that you can call on us to aide you."

"I- thank you," Beth stammers. "But  _how_  will I call upon you?"

Ariel smiles a child-like grin, his index and middle finger coming together while his thumb holds down his ring finger and pinky on his left hand. Then bringing up his two fingers, he presses them to Beth's exposed wrist that he's holding onto.

Beth hisses as an intense burning sensation sears where Ariel placed his fingers. His grip is too tight to pull free from and even though Daryl lunges as if to intervene when he sees Beth in pain, it's over within seconds and Dean's smart enough to catch Daryl before a brawl can break out.

"The hell was that?!" Daryl seethes as Beth holds her wrist, she stepping back from Ariel.

"Our calling card," Ariel says as calm as possible. Clasping his hands behind his behind back, Ariel then peers up at Beth. "Every angel here has the same sigil branded on their skin. When the time is right, all you need to do is simply prick your finger and trace the sigil on your skin with your own blood. It'll activate all of our sigils and let us know where you are so we can aide in righting the world."

Glancing down, it's then that Beth notices the white brand of three interlocked spirals-  _a triskelion,_ her mind whispers- marring her skin. Daryl still seems angry but again, it's Dean who calms him.

"Relax. Being branded by an angel hurts but the pain is only temporary."

"And you know this how?" Ariel asks.

"Have you ever tried to find us?" Dean then smirks, looking towards the small archangel. "Castiel branded our ribs with Enochian sigils to keep us hidden from all angels. The pain sucked but the brands are handy."

"I'm sure they are." Seeing that the group seem restless and on guard after Daryl's little outburst, Ariel then takes another step back with a nod of his head. "Safe travels, my friends."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Abrupt ending but oh well. Next chapter.. we FINALLY meet Castiel and those who are with him :) Who do think is holed up in the bunker with our beloved Cas?
> 
> And jsyk, I'm not one for religion. However, I googled angel names and found these two- Ramiel and Ariel- but I'm pretty sure they're angels from different religions. Either way, I chose these two names just because of their supposed meaning.
> 
> Ramiel- an Angel who oversees visions and souls during the Day of Judgement. Faceclaim: Lupita Nyong'o  
> Ariel- Archangel of Protection. Faceclaim: Ty Simpkins
> 
> Also, I'm well aware that Ariel is a female name but angels.. angels don't really care what gender their vessel is. However, to make things easier, I referred to Ariel as a "he" since she was in a male vessel.


	10. Chapter 10

**Chapter Set** : [Polyvore](http://www.polyvore.com/bunker/set?id=170099814)

*

Beth is practically bouncing in the back seat, having scooted towards the middle of the seat much to Daryl's amusement so she could peer out the windshield to see their new home.

The brick building is falling apart- the brick colored dark with mold, moss, and dirt, and the windows glass-less. The trees surrounding the building are half alive, half dead, and a small roughly paved road leads them towards the back of the building where a green steel door is embedded several feet below ground level into a brick/dirt wall.

"This is home sweet home?" Daryl mutters, finally catching sight of what Beth's seeing. "Doesn't look like much."

"Haven't you ever heard of the saying  _never judge a book by it's cover_?" Dean grins. "Just wait, Dixon. Your mind's about to be blown."

Daryl scoffs but doesn't say anything else, and Dean quickly throws the Impala into park before cutting off the engine. The other two vehicles come to a slow stop behind Dean's car, everyone slowly getting out and stretching their limbs while looking up at the possibly condemned building.

Rick, Abraham, Carol, Sasha, and Rosita are staring up the falling apart building very skeptically, and when Dean sees their stare, he merely waves it off. "It's just for show," he tells them, already walking down a set of concrete steps that leads to the green door. "Don't let what's above fool you."

"Trust us, it's a lot nicer inside," Sam then finishes.

Sam follows Dean down the steps, gesturing for the others to follow and Beth lingers before sighing and following after Daryl. The others follow behind her and she watches briefly as Dean fiddles with an odd looking key just right before the door opens to them. And inside- inside the bunker is definitely jaw dropping.

The inside actually looks like someone's personal library, the walls being covered in books. There are glossy tables and small lamps, weapons along the wall and on display atop waist high shelves. With the whole group then coming to a stop on what appears to be a balcony overlooking the quite luxurious bunker, everyone gapes at how untouched from the chaos that is now the new normal the bunker is.

No one spots the only other living soul inside the bunker, an arrow whistling towards them and embedding itself in the wooden banister just in front of Beth and Daryl causing everyone to shout out in surprise and anger.

"Goddammit, Katniss!" Dean yells, side-eyeing the Georgia group as their weapons make an appearance. "Show yourself!" He leans over and rips the arrow from the banister, waving it around and grumbling when a dark-haired  _Malaysian?_  kid pops up from behind a shelf- he brandishing his own small crossbow. "Seriously?" Dean then tosses the arrow down. "Who the hell did you think we were? We're the only ones with keys, Sherlock!"

"I'm sorry," the male immediately apologizes, laying down his crossbow and holding his hands up. Cheeks faintly blushing, the new guy then manages to turn sheepish and stern all at the same time. "You guys haven't checked in for days. What gives?"

Dean huffs and Sam faintly grins, the younger Winchester then detaching himself from the group in favor of heading down the stairs. "We found an angel, Kevin," Sam shrugs, grinning. "Looks like there's a chance of us winning after all."

"And you brought it here?!" Kevin's gaze darts to the group still standing on the balcony, watching as Dean smirks and gestures for the large group of people to follow him. "And how does one angel turn the fight in our favor? Who are all these people?" he asks, his voice taking on a less squeaky pitch as the time passes.

"These people," Dean starts, his boots thumping slowly down the stairs. "-are going to help us put Lucifer away once more. Sorry if we didn't have time to check in with the damn radio. We were a bit occupied with other things."

The group all hesitantly follow after Dean, Kevin watching them cautiously the entire time.

"Kevin, meet Beth," Dean introduces them and then gestures to others. "That's Daryl, Rick, the little tyke is Judith, uhh.. we got Carl, Carol, Maggie, Glenn.. and, huh," he huffs with an amused little laugh. "I don't remember the other names."

Sam rolls his eyes and picks up after his brother. "That's Father Gabriel, Eugene, Abraham, Noah, Tara, Rosita, Michonne, and Sasha."

"Okay," Kevin drawls. "So who's-"

"Kevin?" Dean cuts him off. And when Kevin faces his friend, he finds the elder Winchester glancing around the bunker with furrowed brows. "Where's Char-"

_"Granger to Han Solo; Come in, Han Solo."_ a decidedly chipper female voice startles everyone, the static behind her voice cluing everyone in on a working CB radio.

Kevin's eyes widen comically as Dean's confusion turns to anger, and Sam's eyes close as he pinches the bridge of his nose. "Dammit, Kevin, you let her go out?!" Dean yells. "Where's Cas?"

Kevin stutters unintelligibly, he quickly scampering off further into the bunker. Dean chases after him and Sam sighs, gesturing the others to follow. And when they do, they find an table that has a giant map printed on it, each state having a tiny lit up light bulb, as well as other machines that they have no idea as to what they do.

_"Han Solo, you there?"_

"Han Solo here," Kevin finally says, picking up the microphone and speaking into it. "What's your status, Granger?"

_"Shadow and I are homeward bound,"_ the same female voice chuckles.  _"You get it? Get it? Give us about an hour and we'll be home-"_

"Dammit, Charlie!" Dean rips the microphone from Kevin's grasp, yelling into it. "You were told to stay put!"

_"Oh, uh, heyy, Dean. Ol' buddy.. ol' pal. What's go-"_

"Charlie!"

_"Right, uh, we'll be home soon. Granger, over and out!"_

"Sonnuva-" Dean growls, his grip tightening on the microphone and angrily throttling it before setting it down gently.

"So," Kevin drawls once more, fidgeting from foot to foot. "We were talking about angels earlier..?"

Dean's anger turns to annoyance and Beth quickly steps forward before any harsh words can be said. "That would be me," she sheepishly raises her hand.

Kevin clearly assesses the blonde girl standing before him, nervously accepting her presence within the bunker. He's known a couple of angels and out of all of them, Castiel was the only one who didn't try to kill him. So meeting a new angel, he's just not quite sure of her yet.

"Alright," Dean barks, clapping his hands sharply and startling Kevin so much that he actually jumps at the sound. "We're home, we're safe, and I'm hungry." Turning towards the Georgian group, Dean smirks. "Collect your things and just drop 'em off in here. Kevin, here, will show you to the showers and while everyone gets cleaned up I'll be in the kitchen making us some burgers."

Silence follows Dean's words and after a minute of no one doing anything, Glenn's the one to break it. "I'm sorry.. but did you just say that you're gonna cook up some burgers?"

"Uh, yeah."

"How?!"

"By cooking it," Dean scoffs. And seeing the still incredulous stares he's getting, it finally clicks at to why these people are so surprised. "We, uh, we had some friends a few hours away from here that were prepared for the end of the world. They had acres upon acres of farm and we were lucky that they had the place secured before everything went to hell."

"We helped them out with a demon possession a few months ago and in return, they helped feed us," Sam finishes. "They were running out of cattle on our last visit but they managed to spare us some ground beef and bacon. We'll be happy to share but since there's not enough meat for all of us, we're going to have to split the burgers in half so everyone gets at least a bite to eat."

"Actual burgers," Carl groans. "I don't care if it's only half, I haven't had one in ages."

"Yeesh. Well, you're in luck, kid," Dean laughs. "Tomato and lettuce are easy to come by since we grow that on our own but bread, not so much. It's a bit stale, what we have left, but if we toast it, it'll taste just fine."

"Screw the bread," Daryl huffs, lips twitching into a grin of his own. "We haven't had real meat since the beginning of this all besides squirrel and a deer or two. I'll be happy with just the patty."

There are murmurs of agreement as well as some laughter- everyone just relieved to be there and have an actual sanctuary.

"Well, alright then. As said before, go get your things and bring 'em in. Sammy and Kevin will show you to the showers, I'll cook, we'll eat, and then everyone will be shown their rooms."

Dean finally takes his leave for the kitchen, and Rick joyously leads his family and friends back up the stairs to go retrieve their clothing and what food they had left in their vehicles. Beth's the only one to linger behind, she waving on Maggie when her sister seems to wait for her. And once left alone with Sam, she grins at him with watery eyes.

"Thank you."

"For?"

"For shelter. Safety. A chance to return things to normal."

"Well if that's the case," Sam smiles. "We should be thanking you. If it wasn't for you, Beth, we wouldn't have a plan. We'd be lucky to last another year on our own."

"And if not for the Winchesters and their fallen angel, I would be useless to my friends and family."

"So why don't we just agree to thank one another and get ready for some peace and quiet before we come up with our plan?"

Beth chuckles and nods, and agrees. "Sounds good."

**xXx**

By the time everyone's freshly showered, Dean's setting the table with half burgers for everyone as well as bowls of canned chili looking as happy as can be. Judith, of course, gets some apple slices to help her with her growing teeth and everyone gets a glass of fresh, cool water.

Along with the food, the bunker's atmosphere is quite a joyous one even as Kevin gets a brief run down of the Georgian's quest since the world went topsy turvy. The food's quickly gobbled down with much gusto and praises to Dean, Sam, and Kevin for the delicious food and all too soon, the opening of the bunker door has everyone sans the Winchesters and Kevin tensing in preparation.

"Relax," Dean says, pushing back his chair and standing. "It's just Charlie and Cas."

Sam sighs before pushing back and standing to follow after his brother who's headed for the stairs, and after glancing around at one another, the rest of the group is quick to scramble to their feet and gather closer to the front room.

"Hola, bitches, we're back," a pale, redheaded woman muses cheerfully.

The newest addition is definitely the Charlie that Dean was talking with over the radio which then made the dark haired, middle aged male that enters after her, Cas. Both appear as clean as can be for two people who were gallivanting around outside and Dean looks extra grumpy at Charlie's happy demeanor. However, the happy demeanor quickly vanishes when she and Cas realize the group of people that they've never seen before.

"Uh, was there a party that we weren't aware of?" Charlie wonders, studying the new and somewhat weary faces. Cas seems cautious of the newcomers but well, if Dean and Sam brought them in.. "You know what, I don't care," she then shrugs. "I trust you Winchesters to bring in only the trustworthy." And that pretty much sums up Cas' thoughts on the matter as well.

"Dammit, Charlie," Dean huffs, annoyed. "What the hell were you thinking leaving the bunker? And you, Cas," he points to the man who freezes halfway coming down the stairs. "-what were you thinking about leaving with her?! We told all three of you to stay put while we were away!"

"Don't get so huffy, Mister," Charlie rolls her eyes, finally descending down the stairs. "Unlike you, I don't have a penis." Dean seems to blush at her words, he looking back over his shoulder at Sam with a shocked expression as if saying  _did she really just say that?_  "And I needed some very much needed lady supplies. We've picked the nearest towns clean so I needed to travel a little further than normal."

"She was going to go alone," Cas speaks, voice gravelly and very unexpected for a once-angel. "But I argued that it'd be better to have someone watching her back. There was no trouble," he assures Dean.

"And also, we hit the jackpot," Charlie beams. "We got the trunk of my car loaded with apples, peaches, and lemons. You're welcome." Dean grumbles some more but apparently the annoyance at Charlie is gone given the way he affectionately ruffles her red hair as she passes him. "And besides, if you'd have been on the radio like you were supposed to, you'd have known what Cas and I were up to. How'd your mission go, by the way?"

"Failure," Dean shrugs. "Turns out the reason our friends stopped checking in was because they got overrun. T'was not a pretty sight." Charlie's nose crinkles at the thought of what not a pretty sight meant, but then her gaze travels back to the gathered group and Dean smirks. "Oh and yeah," he turns to Cas. "-meet your new sister. Some of the friendlier angels are excited about her creation."

Cas' eyes widen before his gaze turns to the group, his face scanning all the new females. His gaze slides over Beth a couple of times and when he can't figure out just who his supposed sister is, Sam points her out. "Cas, meet Beth. Beth, you've been told all about Cas."

Stepping forward, Beth smiles a small smile and offers a brief wave towards the fallen angel. Cas takes in her appearance, frowning and squinting as he clearly studies her. "You've met Father?" He finally asks.

And shaking her head, Beth replies, "I met my human father and then Miss Harvelle. They were the ones who told me about monsters and the Winchesters, as well as giving me my own grace. Apparently, I'm a hybrid of an angel seeing as I still have my emotions."

With another obvious once over, Cas turns to face Dean. "Are you sure about her?"

"Definitely." Then facing Beth, dean smirks. "Show him."

"What-" Beth quickly produces the vial of Cas' grace from beneath her shirt that's been hanging around her neck since Ellen had placed it there, cutting the fallen angel off and watches as Cas takes a second to realize what it is. "Is that.. who's grace did you take?"

"It's yours, Castiel," she informs him. "It's your personal grace."

"Oh, wow," Charlie mutters. "Talk about a major plot twist."

Still gaping, Castiel listens as Beth tells her story. He, Kevin, and Charlie are filled with pity for the girl who died a horrible death and amazement for she was tasked with such a mission that she volunteered to take on. And finally, after all the talking is finished, Beth is able to remove Cas' grace from around her neck and hand it over to it's rightful owner.

Seeing Cas' joyful expression, Dean chuckles. "Well seeing as it's about to get really bright in here, I'm thinking the rest of us should, you know, skedaddle." Daryl snorts at Dean's choice of words but agrees nonetheless. He's seen how bright an angel's grace can get even with his eyes tightly shut and he rather not go through that again. "So if you're bunking up in a room with someone, follow Charlie, and if you're staying alone in a room, follow Kevin. There's an underground garage so Sammy and I will start moving vehicles in."

"What's the plan now?" Rick asks when the murmuring starts. "You've found us, we're at the bunker, and your friend is about to become an angel again. When does the real mission start?"

"For now, we do nothing," Sam explains. "You've people earned a few nights and days of peaceful rest without worrying about having to look over your shoulder. Cas still needs a bit of time to teach Beth how to be an angel and we need the angels to actually find where Lucifer's hiding out so we can think up our next step."

"Not only that but some of you guys need training," Dean says. "We can teach you to fight and we have a gun range with some ammunition to spare. Trust us, none of us are walking into this fight unprepared so just relax and take a breather."

Tired, full, and yawning, the group all murmur among themselves happily. Charlie takes charge with leading Glenn and Maggie, Rosita and Abraham, and Rick, Judith, and Carl- the little family not wanting to separate just yet- to their rooms. Kevin leads everyone else- sans Beth- down a separate wing of the bunker and the Winchesters stare briefly at an awed Cas before stomping up the stairs to start moving the vehicles.

"So," Beth drawls, shoving her hands into the back pockets of her jeans. "-are you ready to become one with Heaven again and teach me a few things?"

Locking gazes with Beth, Cas slowly smiles  _at_ her and gives a nod. He uncorks the vial, watching as his grace dances out of the small opening. Then bringing the vial closer, he opens his mouth wide and it's Beth's turn to watch as an angel's grace is reunited with it's host.

The view is absolutely magnificent and Beth can't help but be in awe herself when she sees the outline of Castiel's wings unfurl behind him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Cas got his mojo back ;) And before you ask, yes Beth can stand watching Cas reunite with his grace because she's an angel herself.
> 
> Coming up next, the group will get some much needed down time as well as our first angel death. Then after that, Castiel and Beth will get some alone time to figure things out and we'll also see Lucifer ;)


	11. Chapter 11

**Chapter Set** : [Polyvore](http://www.polyvore.com/angels/set?id=171237107)

*

After everyone had went to their separate rooms to sleep for the night, Beth laid in bed and just stared at the ceiling. Laying in bed in fresh clothes and on a soft mattress in a cool environment was a welcome change, and Beth was honestly surprised to find that she got an hour of sleep. Though after that one hour, she felt rejuvenated beyond comprehension and took to wandering the halls of the bunker.

Cas had disappeared almost as soon as he was fully powered, he taking off without a word to anyone. Dean and Sam had just shrugged the elder angel's absence off and told her he'd be back soon enough, and the brother's went about their business. So being the only one awake, Beth wanders to the front of the bunker that doubles as a library and turns on all the tiny lamps atop the tables. She finds a small flashlight on one of the shelves and uses the beam of light to browse the books that the Winchesters had told them to look through whenever they felt like it.

Grabbing what few books and journals she finds on Angels, Beth takes a seat at the table and starts reading.

Hours later, Beth has added a few more books on demons and Wendigos to her pile, and she lounges silently as she drinks in all the information she can. The sound of shuffling feet soon catch her attention and Beth looks up to find a tall figure quietly making his way towards her. The light from the lamps soon wash over a yawning Sam, a long sleeve gray v-neck fitted loosely to his upper torso while black sleep pants cling to his hips. The tips of his toes are barely visible and his hair is a wild mess.

Stifling a giggle, Beth smiles. "Sleep well?"

"Mhm. You been up all night?" His voice rumbles quietly.

"More or less," she shrugs. "The books have kept me company.. although, there's not much about angels here."

Sam yawns again and faintly nods. "Sorry about that. Angels rarely came down to Earth," he explains sleepily. "The Men of Letters knew they existed but then the Men of Letters were wiped from existence and the Hunters believed angels to be myths."

"So meeting Castiel..?" Beth slowly grins, wondering how that meeting went down.

"Was one for the books," Sam chuckles.

A brief silence falls over them, and Sam yawns one last time with a quick shake of his head while scratching at his abdomen. "I'm gonna.. go change and then start on breakfast. You need anything or want anything?"

"I'm fine for now," Beth smiles gratefully. "But I will help you in the kitchen. I need a small break from reading before I tackle any other monsters."

"Alright," Sam grins. "Kitchen's that way," he points in it's direction. "See what we can pair with the powdered eggs. I'm not sure what we have in there since Dean does most of the cooking."

"Okay. I'll see what I can find."

**xXx**

Beth finds some questionable pancake mix that only calls for water and figures that would pair well with the eggs, so while Sam mixed up two large portions of each breakfast food, Beth took to slicing some fruit for the group as well.

They end up having a decent spread of pancakes, eggs, and a selection of apple, peach, and orange wedges, and while they're plating the table, Kevin walks hesitantly into the room. He eyes Beth for a few seconds before helping them and when Sam picks up on the slight tension between the two younger adults, he decides to let them hash it out on their own.

"I'll go wake the others. Kevin, can you help Beth put the books away?"

"Uh.. yeah," he answers with a shrug.

Sam winks at Beth as he heads for the wing of the bunker that houses all the single people, and Beth rolls her eyes though she's grinning while she does it.

Kevin picks up all the written journals, those easily being placed all together where they belong. Beth picks through the demon and other creature books, she hesitating and biting her bottom lip in contemplation when Kevin starts gathering up more of the demon books.

"Have you been up against any of these monsters?" she finally asks.

"What?"

"These monsters," Beth says, showing him two books she has in her hand. One shows Wendigos and the other shows Werewolves. "Have you been up against any of them?"

"Oh. Uh, no," Kevin frowns. "Just angels and demons. They tend to want to kill me."

"Oh."

"Yeah."

Silence falls over them and it's Beth's turn to frown, she turning around and delivering the books in hand to their rightful place.

"What about you?" Kevin then hesitantly asks.

Beth smiles as Kevin wonders about her, and shrugs. "Just demons and walkers. Or croats, as Sam and Dean call them," she tells him. "But at the time, I didn't even know what I was doing. It sort of just happened and then I was unconscious for a while. It's hard being an angel."

Kevin snorts against his better judgement and Beth laughs as he blushes. The tension seems to drain from his frame and just like that, the air between them is clear. He could get used to having another friendly angel around. And just as the last of the books are put away, part of the group start trickling in. People take a seat wherever there's one open, and no one bothers waiting to dig in.

Cas reappears so suddenly that Beth actually startles when she sees him appear from thin air, and Cas flashes her a slow forming smile when he sees Beth watching him. No one seems to notice his sudden appearance other than Beth herself so the elder angel makes his way to her where she sits a little ways away from the gathered breakfast group, he looking every bit of an oddity in his beige trench coat.

"Hello, Beth."

"Castiel," she greets, angling her body towards his. "How are you?"

"I am most excellent." His smile seems to widen and Beth chuckles quietly. "It feels good to spread my wings once more."

"I'm happy for you," she admits.

Castiel seems at ease in Beth's presence, and the moment it appears he's about to open his mouth to speak, the noise of a whimpering baby is heard. Everyone looks towards the source only to find a tired and exhausted looking Carl and Rick, and a red-faced and red-eyed Judith.

"Everything okay?" Carol slowly stands, wondering if she should take Judith off her father's hands.

"We're good," Rick yawns, gesturing for Carl to take a seat and eat. "Judith's just a bit fussy. I think she spiked a fever overnight. She's been awake and miserable for a few hours already."

"Aw, poor baby." Carol takes Judith from Rick and he shoots her a grateful smile before taking a seat and helping himself to some food.

Beth watches as Carol tries to soothe the whimpering child but the gray-haired woman has no such luck. She tries feeding Judith but the baby merely refuses to have food or a bottle's nipple near her mouth and manages to cry even louder.

Even Dean takes a crack at calming the sick baby, he tossing a hand towel over his shoulder before taking Judith into his arms and humming near her ear as he paces back and forth with her. Dean's parental side earns a few chuckles and hidden grins but again, nothing works.

Cas then gets a sudden determined look on his face. Beth watches him, her right brow hiking up in amusement when Cas suddenly stands and sheds his trench coat before rolling up the sleeves of his button down shirt. Walking to Dean, Cas keeps his gaze on Judith. "May I try?"

Dean's startled that Cas wants to hold the baby, his gaze then darting to Rick who shrugs and continues eating. Then looking back to Cas, Dean smirks. "Sure, why not." He passes over the crying baby, grinning when Cas seems to frown and appear confused as he maneuvers the child around in his arms.

In the mere seconds that it takes Cas to get Judith in a comfortable position in the crook of his left arm, he's now gained everyone's attention. Without saying anything, his middle finger and index finger on his right hand come together while his thumb holds his two other fingers down, and he presses his two joined fingers to Judith's forehead. The effect is not instantaneous but her crying eventually turns into sniffles and the sniffles taper off until her nose is red and eyes watery.

Cas smiles down at Judith cradled in the crook of his arm and gently sways her, and only looks up when he notices how quiet everyone's gone around him. And meeting several amazed and shocked expression, Cas tells them, "I've missed being able to heal."

* * *

Three days in and half of the group is already feeling restless and stir crazy being cooped up in the bunker. Maggie, Glenn, and Father Gabriel seemed to have found themselves at ease around Kevin and his talk about being a Prophet. Rick, Daryl, and Abraham are oddly most comfortable around Dean in the garage. Eugene, Carol, and Carl find themselves intrigued with Sam. And Charlie seemed to have taken Tara under her wing- the two girls quickly finding out they swung for the same team though they had more important things to do with their time than see if there was any real attraction between them.

Cas has yet to teach Beth anything but he does answer any and all questions she has, and everyone else seems to do their own thing.

**xXx**

"So," Charlie drawls one day. "We're good on food and supplies for a little while longer but some of the group are in desperate need of clothing."

"No."

"Come on, Dean! Croat blood and guts are not as easy to wash out! The clothes were not salvageable."

The elder Winchester sighs, lowering the rim of the beer bottle from his lips with a frown. "Charlie.."

"Come on, Dean-o, it's not like I'm going," her lips twitch into a grin. "But some of the others need to stretch their legs and you're kind of terrifying to speak to. Everyone going knows how to handle a gun and if need be, Beth will be with them to warn them about incoming demons."

Dean's gaze slides over to Rick- the other group's leader just holding his hands up and chuckling. "Don't look to me. I've already gave Carl the go-ahead but they're asking you because this is your place. If you think it'll risk leading danger back here then they won't go."

Seconds pass and then Dean groans, "Ugh. Who's going?"

Beaming in triumph, Charlie laugh. "Beth, Carol, Daryl, Carl, Michonne, and Sasha."

"Whatever. Just make sure they have a decent map and knowledge on which towns to hit up for clothes."

"Got it, Boss."

Dean rolls his eyes as Charlie takes her leave, he lifting the beer bottle's rim to his lips by the neck as Rick watches on, amusement sparking in his gaze.

**xXx**

"You know, it's really pointless to go for bright colors," Sasha mumbles as she shoves as many dark shirts into a bag. "With the world we live in now, it'll be dirty in two days time."

Beth grins down at the light blue and white plaid shirt in hand, shrugging while adding it to her pile. "It'll be fine down in the bunker and besides, I figured Charlie would like it since she let me have her purple and pink one," she says, gesturing to the plaid shirt that Charlie had indeed gave her.

Sasha rolls her eyes without a word- the dark-skinned girl still a ball of skepticism about saving the world- and Carol snorts in amusement.

Michonne and Daryl are keeping watch just outside of the store they managed to find in the strip mall, and Carl is shoving anything and everything he find that looks like it'll fit him, his Dad, and the other males that stayed back at the bunker.

Several bags are filled with clothes and placed by the door, ready for transport to the truck, when Beth feels it-  _it_ being the sudden straightening of her spine and cold feeling of dread washing over her. Her chest tightens, her gut clenches, her fingertips tingle, and her gaze suddenly sharpens.

"Uh, Beth?" Carol squeaks. "You okay?" Sasha and Carl stop what they're doing, both looking up to find the young blonde as stoic as can be. And when Beth doesn't answer, Sasha and Carl look to Carol for an answer. "Her eyes flashed," she tells them.

Sasha and Carl whirl back around to face Beth, the blonde standing as still as can be.

"Walkers!" Daryl yells, banging on the windows and snapping Beth out of whatever was going on with her.

She seems to exhale deeply, gaze darting around the shop frantically. "We need to leave. Now!"

Everyone jumps into action then, gripping their bags tight and running for the front door. Daryl and Michonne can be seen striding towards the small herd of about twenty walkers making their way into the parking lot, Daryl releasing bolt after bolt and Michonne unsheathing her katana.

Carl and Carol pick up the rest of the bags by the door, and Beth and Sasha unsheathe machetes to keep the path clear for them should some of the walkers make it around Michonne or Daryl. And once outside, they make a break for the truck.

Daryl and Michonne look fine dealing with the walkers and Beth stumbles as the sudden weight of  _danger_ presses down on her. Sasha reaches for her but Beth waves her and the others to keep going, she coming to a stop and turning to the right where she feels the urge to look. There's a woman standing there, her impeccably clean yellow cardigan and blue dress with darker blue leggings stand out. Her heads tilts to the side in wonder, long dark tresses of hair blowing in the breeze, and a devious smirk tilts the corner of her lips upward.

The air whooshes from Beth's lungs and the girl starts striding towards her.

The machete slips from Beth's grip and clatters to the lot beneath her feet, her left hand immediately reaching behind her back for the angel blade in her waist band. The ridiculous blue of the new stranger's eyes seem to gleam dangerously, and her right hand lifts at her side. With a simple flick of the stranger's wrist, Beth isn't prepared for the sudden weightless of her body nor the feeling of slamming into the side of an abandoned car. The window shatters beneath the side of her face, the angel blade falls from her hand, and her group is suddenly yelling for her.

Beth groans and pushes herself to sit up, flinching as glass pierces the palms of her hands. Everyone's yelling for her and at the stranger to step away, but Beth knows it would be of no use. This stranger has the aura of an angel and she knows they're in for a fight. So when Beth finally gets her bearings, she notices that her group has stopped a ways away, everyone spaced apart in a half circle behind the stranger. They, too, know this isn't a normal threat.

"Look at you," the girl tuts mockingly, grinning and crouching in front of Beth without a care in the world. "Father's precious little experiment isn't as grand as he thought, is she?"

Beth glares at the woman, feeling the warm sensation of her own blood dripping down her face from where she's no doubt cut up. "Who are you? What do you want?"

"I am Hael," she proudly states and pushes to stand tall. "-and I want your vessel."

"Like hell," Daryl growls.

Hael turns towards the hunter, and Beth screams, "Don't!"

Daryl hesitates and lowers his crossbow, frowning at his friend and Hael snickers. "Your silly little arrows can't harm me, boy. You'd be smart to not make me angry. My fight is not with you but with my abomination of a sister." Daryl sneers at her and it only amuses Hael. She turns her attention back to Beth, pacing back and forth before her sister. "You see, I was sitting comfortable up in Heaven when we got the orders to come down.  _Help the humans_ they said.  _Keep them safe_ we were told." Hael scoffs and stops pacing, her attention solely on Beth and not on the humans arranging themselves behind her back. "We were sent to help your pathetic race only they were all dumb enough to either kill themselves or get themselves turned.

"We were to keep you and your lot safe, and return home, but now we're stuck here. This vessel," her voice hardens now, eyes blazing in anger as she gestures to her own body. "-was not meant to hold my grace for this long. It weakens and if I die, I'm stuck here on Earth without a place to go."

"What does that have to do with me?" Beth manages to ask. "I have a mission and once complete, you can return home. Kill me and you'll be stuck down here forever."

Hael scowls at that. "Yes, well, I rather roam this forsaken planet in a vessel capable of holding my grace than return home a coward. And besides, my vessel will give out long before you track down Lucifer." She crouches once more, reaching for Beth's angel blade that had fallen to the ground and picks it up. Smiling in a cruel manner, she presses the tip of the blade to Beth's cheek and drags it down, cutting her flesh open. "Seems Father should have put his faith in his original children."

"Yeah?" Beth winces at the pain. "Well, Father should have made you more smarter." Hael's smile drops and Beth smirks. "Daryl, now!" She falls to the side, listening as an arrow whistles passed.

Hael grunts, glancing down at the arrow protruding from her shoulder. Carl shouts and lunges forward but Hael catches him in the cheek with her fist and sends him flying. Michonne's quick to rush to Carl's aide, and Hael's sneering at the human who dared attack her that she doesn't see Carol come up behind her. And with a grunt of her own, Carol stabs Hael in the back with her own angel blade.

Hael screams, mouth and eyes wide open as her grace shines bright in her dying moment. Everyone readily shields their eyes for her dramatic ending, and Beth watches as Hael's body goes limp right before Carol drops her.

"Beth," Carol rushes for her now. "-are you okay?!"

"I'm fine.. I'm fine," Beth waves her off. She takes Carol's offered help to stand, leaning into the woman's side as everyone gathers around. "Thank you."

Carol nods and Beth looks to Carl next, the boy sporting his own cut and a forming bruise on the cheek where Hael hit him. "You okay?"

"I'm good," he manages a small smile. His gaze falls down to the dead angel, gesturing towards her. "Are those what I think they are?" The whole group glances down then, taking in the ashy impression of wings burned into the ground. No one says a word about what they're seeing and Carl finally drawls, "So who's telling my Dad and Dean about what happened here? 'Cause I call  _not it._ "

Daryl snorts, the tension finally breaking, and everyone starts picking up the forgotten bags of clothing.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the delay of this chapter. I was totally not in the mood to write and it was hell trying to piece this chapter together. Again, head over to Polyvore for this chapter's set ;)


	12. Chapter 12

**Chapter Set** : [Polyvore](http://www.polyvore.com/lessons/set?id=172700648)

*

Returning back to the Bunker with a bruised and bleeding Carl, and Beth bleeding as well from wounds and nicks to her person, went about just as expected. Dean blew up and demanded to know what had happened but it was Rick that surprised everyone. Because instead of blowing up and wanting details, he made sure his son was okay before checking on Beth and then demanded they sit while someone tended to their wounds as they explained why they looked the way they did.

But as Maggie started for the kitchen, Cas stepped forward and healed them with just a press of his fingers to their foreheads. "While angels cannot heal themselves, we can heal others," he had smiled down at Beth. "I'll show you how soon."

Beth numbly nodded and then turned her attention to Dean who was silently fuming, though he wasn't as angry as he had started off as. Michonne and Daryl took the reins then to take the heat off of Beth, the both of them explaining how walkers surprised them and that the hostile angel came out of nowhere. They explained how the angel attacked and wanted Beth's vessel because it was stronger than her own, and that they quickly came up with a plan that resulted with Carol killing the enemy angel.

Father Gabriel had cried out at learning that but didn't make a fuss because he knew that not angels were good.

"Her name was Hael," Beth had finally mumbled, and then went into her own retelling before Sasha had offered up that the trip was a still a success because they had bags of clothes waiting down in the garage for them.

* * *

The tension down in the Bunker is growing and no one knows how to cope with it. On one hand, they're grateful for the safety and food the shelter provides but on the other hand, the're all starting to have actual withdrawals from killing walkers and worry that all the down time will strip them of their honed skills.

The news about Hael hadn't made anything better and in fact, it just made Dean put everyone on lock-down which really didn't sit well with Sasha who was just itching for some type of fight.

Sam, Rick, and Michonne manage to keep tempers from flaring, and Sam soon recruits Sasha into using her anger to help him make more bullets and carve devil's traps on the points.

Castiel put his effort into finding Lucifer's cage door before they attempt to seek out Lucifer himself, but he has no such luck. Apparently, the knowledge just didn't  _come to him_ but the Winchesters weren't as surprised as Beth or Cas, and just added finding the cage door to their agenda after Cas flew to the outskirts of Lawrence, Kansas- where Stull cemetery, the place where the door to Lucifer's cage resided once upon a time- and found nothing.

The Winchesters also aren't very big on sharing whatever information they have so more often than not, Rick, Daryl, and some of the others push themselves into the brother's little privacy bubble to be kept in the loop. And with Castiel always in the loop, Beth just hung back and read whatever book caught her attention until she was roped in.

**xXx**

It's not until Beth starts getting twitchy that Castiel finally takes charge.

"Dean gave us the okay to leave the bunker," he tells her one morning during a break in her conversation with Maggie. "So when you're ready, come find me. It's about time we started on your angel lessons." He offers both Beth and Maggie a nod of acknowledgement before he takes his leave, and it only takes Beth a few moments to scramble out of her seat and chase after him.

So after dressing comfortably, Beth waits in her room for Castiel as he finishes up talking to Dean and telling him just what exactly he had planned for the day.

"Are you ready?" Castiel startles her from her thoughts, she blinking owlishly up at him before grinning broadly and nodding.

"Yes."

"Good." He steps further into her room, shutting the door behind him and takes a seat on the edge of the bed next to Beth. Castiel slips off his usual beige trench coat- something that everyone's already gotten used to- and folds it in half before setting it down between them and rolls up the sleeves to his shirt. "Your first lesson will be to heal. I won't always be around and your friends will need help should they run into trouble."

"Okay," she nervously drawls. "-so how does this exactly work?"

"Like this." Castiel unsheathes an angel blade from his folded coat, and quickly makes a cut on his forearm. Beth grimaces and he chuckles softly. "Don't worry, it only stings a little. Now, heal me."

"B-but how?!"

Beth will swear that she saw Castiel's smile falter, and then a split second later morph into something of understanding. If he'd already forgotten that Beth didn't know how to do anything angelic, they were in for an interesting day.

"Your grace.. is a constant buzz just beneath the flesh, correct?"

"Yes. It's like.. it's like," Beth mutters, frowning as she tries to think of an explanation. "It's like bees buzzing beneath the surface. On the good days, it's a low hum. But recently.. it's like the bees are looking for a way out."

Castiel falls silent in thought, his gaze sweeping over her. "These  _bees,_ " he says slowly. "-are they stationed in one place or do you feel it in several places at once?"

"Everywhere," Beth clarifies and notices the subtle widening of Castiel's eyes at her admission. "I can feel the buzz from the back of my skull to the tips of my toes. Is that- is that not normal?"

Huffing and pushing to his feet, Castiel manages an awkward smile for Beth's sake. "That's.. not normal. But it's good," he's quick to clarify. "And it should actually be easier for you to learn."

"..okay."

"Give me your hand." Beth hesitantly offers her hand to Castiel and he gives it a quick squeeze before placing her hand over the open wound on his arm. "Heal me. Concentrate on the..  _buzz_  and force the sensation to pool in your palm. Let your grace pool and settle, and gently release it. Concentrate on what you want it to do."

The younger angel gulps at the challenge, and nods in understanding. Her hand trembles but she inhales and exhales deeply before shutting her eyes and doing as she was told. Hand still hovering over Castiel's arm, she mentally pictures a white light shining down on the wound and stitching the skin back together. She's not sure she's doing it right and she can feel the beginning of a headache forming, so with a furrowed brow, her eyes snap open and she sighs. "I'm no good at this."

But Castiel's smiling and his gaze drops down to his arm. "It appears you are."

She pulls her hand back immediately, staring in awe at the red-stained flesh and smooth skin where the cut just resided moments ago. "I did it," she breathes in awe, a smile curving the corners of her lips upward. "I healed you!"

"You did," he continues to smile proudly. "Now, you're going to do it again but this time, you're going to heal me how I heal with just a press of your fingers to my head." Beth's smile falters but she nods and watches as Castiel cuts his forearm yet again. "When you press your fingers here," he taps his forehead. "-I want you to concentrate again but this time, imagine releasing some of your grace and send it sweeping down my body before reigning it back in. Understood?"

"Yes," Beth jerkily nods. She takes a deep breath before shaking out her limbs and chuckles softly as Castiel finds amusement in her actions. She flexes her arm and then presses two fingers to Castiel's forehead.

Healing this way seems trickier and takes more concentration but soon enough, Beth can feel the way her grace reacts to her thoughts as she wills it to slowly seep into Castiel and letting it sweep down his body while patching up any injuries the elder angel has. But since there's really only one injury to him, her grace sweeps quickly through him and it's like a rubber band snaps when she pulls and forces her grace to return.

"Did I- did it work?" She asks breathlessly, eyes still closed as she sways from the grace usage.

And once again, Castiel's smiling even though she can't see. "Look for yourself." Her eyes slowly blink open and she laughs in relief. "Rest for an hour and we'll try again," he then tells her. "The more you practice, the easier healing will be. After that, we'll start on your flying lessons."

**xXx**

The hour passed slowly for Beth since she was anxious to keep practicing but soon enough, Castiel is entering her room once more. He continues to cut his forearms and instructs Beth to heal him, and after a few more hours, she can heal with just a quick press of her fingers to his forehead without a second thought.

"Flying is a lot different," Castiel soon informs her. "I'm going to take you somewhere and I want you first concentrate on the sensation of flying. Okay?"

"Okay."

Castiel stands proudly and with a brief warning, his fingers are pressed to her forehead. Between one second and the next, Beth finds herself in an unfamiliar location and stumbles backward in surprise. "Where- where are we?"

"Somewhere in Oklahoma, I believe."

Beth's wide eyes dart in every direction taking in the dust covered everything, the overturned tables and chairs, and musky scent of the room. There's questionable stain marks marring the walls, the bedding is ripped and rumpled, the curtains are half-ripped from their bars, and the windows are boarded over though there's just enough space to peer outside.

There's a familiar rasping and growling behind one of the doors in the room, and Beth shifts from foot to foot. "Don't worry about that yet," Castiel tells her, voice low, when he sees her eyes dart in the direction of the noise. "We'll get to that soon but first, I want to know what you felt about flying."

"It's.. different," she mumbles. "Like blinking.. but not." Beth sighs and mulls over her thoughts for a few moments. "I could  _feel_  the presence of your grace but not see it. It didn't seep in like mine did when I healed you; it enveloped me. And then, you know, whisked us away."

"Mhm," Castiel nods in acknowledgment. "The thing about flying, though, is that you have to have a clear destination in mind of where you want to go. If you haven't been there before, and you're not sure about your surroundings, you can end up anywhere and that's not very.. fun."

Beth snorts but quickly schools her expression into one of sheepish-ness when she catches Castiel and his own expression twisted into one of slight horror as he recalls a memory. The snarling and groaning behind one of the doors gets louder again, and Beth turns her attention to that. "So are you going to explain why there's a walker in the closet? Or bathroom?" She frowns.

"Oh. Yes." Castiel replies, being brought out of his thoughts and makes his way towards the door. "You're going to smite the rotting vessel without relying on your grace taking over at the last second in order to not have your grace drain you of your strength. When the door opens, I don't want you using your blade or any blunt objects. Get the vessel lying on it's front, and press your hand to the back of her head. Push your grace outward and concentrate of destroying the..  _wrongness_ you'll be able to feel."

"Okay. I- I can do this." Beth steadies her stance before swiping off the gray beanie atop her head, and pushes her grace until she can feel her hands tingling more than normal. She gives a jerky nod to Castiel and before she knows it, the bathroom door is being swung open.

The walker shuffles as fast as it can when it sets it's gaze on it's next meal- Beth- and snarls hungrily. Castiel makes sure to stay out of sight and Beth slowly backs up, luring the walker to the center of the room. Her pulse quickens, her grace builds up, and her vision sharpens beyond what's considered normal. As the walker reaches for her, Beth side-steps it's grasp and kicks out, tripping her. A bone snaps, the walker snarls in agitation at not getting it's food, and Beth straddles her back. One hand holds the walker down by the neck so she doesn't turn her head and bite any flesh, and the other hand is pressed directly to the back of the walker's head. She presses down and lets her grace flood out from her palm enough to see the reflection of her grace on the carpet as it shines out from the walker's eyes and mouth.

The second the walker stops struggling, Beth stands and turns to Castiel, a wry grin twisting her lips. "That- that's easy," she huffs a laugh.

"It appears so. You're far more powerful than you think, Beth, and it's only a matter of time before you realize your full potential."

**xXx**

The next couple hours are spent on flying. Castiel takes her back and forth between the motel room and her room back at the bunker, letting her get a feel of what it feels like to fly and what she needs to concentrate on. And when she has an inkling of what to do, it's Beth's turn to take Castiel to a place of her own that she remembers quite vividly.

Eyes closed and inhaling deeply, Beth concentrates on where she wants to go before hesitantly reaching up and pressing two fingers to Castiel's forehead. Her eyes open, she blinks twice, and then she suddenly finds herself back in her childhood room at the farm.

The white vanity and white wooden chair brings back memories from an innocent childhood, but the collected dirt and grime covering everything reminds her that that innocence is long lost. Her wooden bed frame is standing on three legs, and if the mess of cans, wrappers, and long forgotten dirtied clothing is anything to go by, her old home has become a sanctuary for some poor soul after the house had been abandoned.

Castiel takes a look around the room, walking around slowly as Beth starts rummaging through the drawers of the vanity. He wants to ask where they are but when she pulls out what appears to be a family portrait from within a drawer, realization dawns on him. He watches as she stares fondly at the faces of herself, Maggie, and what he assumes are her parents, and then breaks the glass before retrieving the picture and folding it in half only to shove in her back pocket.

"Okay, so this was home," she finally mumbles, sighing and frowning at the fact that some stranger had invaded what was once hers. "I thought it would at least make me smile but- can we just leave and.. go somewhere else instead?"

"If you wish," Castiel replies. "And if it's not too much trouble, I'd like to visit Ariel and Ramiel. I've searched for them but it appears they've now guarded against anyone who has yet to find them. Angels included."

"Of course." Beth thinks about the mall housing all the angels, glancing down at the triskelion on her wrist. Knowing it's only to be activated during an emergency, Beth focuses on the angel who marked her and their safe haven. And with the front of entrance- inside of the building obviously- in mind, Beth takes a deep breath and presses two fingers to Castiel's forehead once more.

This time, when Beth blinks her eyes open, she's standing in the very familiar dimly lit mall.

Angels are immediately on alert when they sense their presence, but when they notice Castiel at her side, there's an uproar of elation at having him back.

Ariel and Ramiel are quick to make an appearance, the both of them pushing through the gathered angels, and quickly escort them upstairs to the furniture store where Ariel stays. And once hidden away in the furniture store, Ariel and Ramiel face Castiel with matching smiles.

"Brother," Ariel speaks. "-it's nice to see you spread your wings again."

"Sister," Castiel greets, his brows furrowing a moment later. "-or do I call you brother? Your vessel confuses me," he admits.

Both Ariel and Ramiel bark a laugh, something in which startles Beth because these two angels didn't look like the laughing type.

"Oh, Castiel, how we've missed your presence. Tell us," Ramiel gets a greedy look in her eye. "-how goes your search for Lucifer?"

"It.. goes," he mumbles and then shakes his head as if ashamed. "We haven't really started," he then admits. Ramiel tuts at Castiel and he sighs dejectedly as he plops himself down on a sofa. Beth follows but only settles herself on the arm rest. "Not only were we tasked with putting Lucifer back in his cage but I was also tasked with making sure Beth knew how to do certain things. I'm preparing Beth before putting her in a situation she has no idea how to handle."

Ramiel and Ariel both simultaneously turn to Beth, and the blonde merely shrinks under their gazes. For being a fellow angel, she sure does feel greatly intimated by them.

"Well, if it's any help," Ariel says with a shrug. "-there are whispers about unusual amounts of reapers down in Texas."

Castiel perks up. "Actually, yes, that does help."

* * *

Lucifer lazily slouches on his  _throne,_ the screams of the once hopeful humans like music to his ears as his children play. The occasional screech or roar pierces the air from Eve's own children, and he can't help the sinister smile that curls his lips. Being topside was really starting to have it's perks.

"Sir," a pudgy man, springy brown curls parted down the middle and a black suit looking immaculate, steps further into the room. His hesitant and nervous approach is enough to make Lucifer smirk, the rotting flesh of his face pulling tight. "-there are.. sightings of angels plotting with the Winchesters," the demon gulps. "A few of us believe that they're planning against us."

Lucifer drawls, "Is that so?"

"Yes, sir. The angel, Castiel, has found his grace once more. A-and there's this new girl- a blonde little thing- that the angels are speaking very highly of. It's said she possesses the grace of an archangel."

Lucifer's smirk falls and the demon shifts uncomfortably under the now intense glare of his Father. "Let them plot. If it's a fight they want, it's a fight they'll get."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I apologize for smiling!Castiel. I just really enjoy Cas when he shows emotion and since he was human for some time before, he knows what emotions are and frequently shows it.
> 
> Also, I have the remaining chapters outlined.. but I'm losing motivation to actually write and it seems like people are losing interest as well. So for the mean time, I'm going to be working on getting out the last remaining chapters for my soulmate!verse. There's only a few chapters of it left so I'm going to concentrate on that before coming back to this.
> 
> I hope you understand :) and I'll be back as soon as I can!


	13. Chapter 13

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> **Miss me? ;)**

Castiel and Beth return to the bunker early the next morning, and Dean had not been impressed with having been left in the dark about their overnight stay wherever the hell the two angels had gotten off to. At least, not until Castiel gruffly told him about their visit with Ariel and Ramiel, and that their nest of angels spent all night flying all over Texas to find the cage door.

"Did they find it?" Dean had immediately perked up, anger vanishing within seconds.

"We did," Castiel grinned for a brief moment before said grin dimmed. "It's in South Texas, in a little private cemetery on a ranch. There was a horde of the infected but they were easily taken care of. There was no monster or demon activity for miles so it's safe to say we found it first."

"Good. Let's keep it that way. Family meeting in an hour," Dean had then supplied.

So an hour later, Beth finds herself sitting at the long table where research is done and their meals are eaten. Dean had taken it upon himself to start waking up the bunker's occupants (the younger angel smiling when she realized Dean considered everyone family) so while everyone wakes up and gets a bite to eat, Beth occupies herself by staring at the picture she managed to snag from her childhood bedroom.

Said family picture is sitting atop the table before her as she absentmindedly traces a finger along the faces of her parents. The chair from beside her is pulled out and she turns her head only to smile at her sister.

"What's that you got there?" Maggie asks, setting down her bowl of oatmeal and blueberries. (The Winchesters, Charlie, and Kevin did not joke around when it came to freezing berries as soon as the world had ended).

Hand having covered the photo when she noticed another presence, Beth sheepishly grins and removes her hand. Maggie's gaze then zeros in on the picture and she freezes at the memory frozen in time. "I went back to the farm," Beth confesses. "Castiel was teaching to me to fly and in order to fly to a place, you have to have at least been there once before or be really powerful. The first place to pop into my mind was home."

"Is it- how did it look?" Maggie gulps. She finally takes her seat, grabbing up the picture and holding it delicately in hand.

"Abandoned," the blonde shrugs. "We only flew to my room but it was obvious someone had been in there after we left."

"Well, hopefully our home gave them a night or two of comfort."

"Yeah. Hopefully."

Maggie continues to stare at the picture with a fond expression, only setting it down when everyone else starts to take a seat. And once everyone's settled, Beth folds the picture before slipping it into her back pocket, she then standing and heading over to Carol who's fussing with a wriggling Judith.

"You need to eat," Beth then says as she reaches for the baby. "I have a feeling today's going to be a busy day and you'll need your strength."

Carol easily passes over Judith, and those who are near and overhear Beth's words eagerly dig into their food now because everyone's been itching for some sort of action. So as Beth keeps Judith entertained and feeds the growing baby, everyone else focuses on eating and getting their energy levels up to prepare them for whatever it is that has Dean whispering back and forth with Castiel.

Once everyone's done, the table is cleared of dishes and clutter, and everyone retakes their seat only to stare up at the head of the table where Dean stands with his hands on his hips. "Okay, guys, we got some good news thanks to Thing One and Thing Two," he gestures between to two angels of their group.

Dean's pause for dramatic flare annoys several in the group but only one voices what everyone's thinking. "Which is?" Abraham huffs.

Now smirking, Dean only answers when Abraham starts to glare. "We know the location to Lucifer's cage  _and_  we're the first to find it."

"And that's a good thing?" Carl wonders.

"A very good thing, kid."

"The door," Sam speaks up now. "-is in south Texas. We'll be driving down there but since most of the cars in the garage are not really suitable for this trip, we'll have to scavenge for two more vehicles and extra gas so everyone can ride comfortably."

"Sounds reasonable," Rick's gruff voice agrees. "When do we leave?"

Dean's clap of hands draws the attention back to him. "Two weeks. We need to make more ammo and everyone needs to touch up on their target practice as well as hand-to-hand combat both with and without angel blades being involved."

There are murmurs of agreement and gruff denials of not needing to touch up on anything (Abraham), and out of the whole group, Daryl's the only one to see something wrong with their two week plan.

Hair shielding his intense stare, Daryl subtly clears his throat. "How do we know that in the two weeks we're here, the devil an' his friends won't find the cage door?"

The murmuring stops and everyone turns back towards Dean but it's Castiel who answers. "As Fate would have it, there is a small home not fifty-six yards away from where the cage door resides. After scouring the woods surrounding the ranch, a few of my brothers and sisters volunteered to stay and keep an eye out. They've also warded the home so nothing can sense them there and investigate as to why angels are squatting there."

"This is great and all," Maggie voices her concern next. "-but we still need to lure the Devil down there, too, right? How are we gonna pull that off?"

"Well," Dean starts off and then frowns a second later. "That's actually a good question, Greene. Cas?" He then turns to the elder angel and stares at his friend- waiting for an answer.

Cas shifts in his seat under everyone's stare, his attention turning to Beth whose gaze immediately darts to him. She knows what he's going to say, she having been one of the few angels uncomfortable with what they had planned, but everyone in the bunker is expecting an answer so after pulling on the lapels of his trench coat rather nervously, Castiel gulps and explains. "A brother of  _ours,_ " he pointedly glances at Beth again to let everyone know he's talking about an angel. "-has volunteered to go to Lucifer with false information about Sam having a fallout with Dean. He's to tell him that Sam is mulling over the idea of finally agreeing to be his vessel and that Sam has left his brother's side. Once we're situated in Texas, our brother will lure Lucifer to our location."

Glenn frowns and leans forward. "Sounds like a suicide mission."

The Winchesters reluctantly shrug because it's the only plan they have.

"Could go either way," Dean then admits. "We've been up against Lucifer once with another of his brother's at our side- Gabriel- and he'd been hesitant to kill him."

"Just depends on how good of a liar this angel is," Sam sighs tiredly. "Lucifer tried talking Gabriel to his side so he wouldn't have to kill him but Gabriel refused. If this other angel can lie and act his ass off decently, he just might make it out alive."

* * *

With the plan set in motion- Sasha and Abraham help Sam make as much bullets as they can with devil's traps etched into the tips while also filling shotgun shells with rock salt. Dean's in charge of hand-to-hand combat, Cas is in charge of fighting with angel blades, and Rick's in charge of target practice even though almost everyone has down that skill set to a T.

The first week of training is nearly brutal- everyone having come to the realization just who their enemy is and the seriousness of their upcoming fight.

Fear breaks out within the group but with Castiel, Beth, and then Father Gabriel's extensive praying, those who had been scared are easily calmed.

At the beginning of the second week, Michonne's tasked with rounding up a small group so they can scavenge for vehicles and gas- the only exception being that the ones she chooses have to at least be more advanced in their training. Abraham and Sasha immediately volunteer their services just because they  _need_ to set foot outside the bunker, Daryl's asked and he agrees, and Kevin goes because he knows how to deal with the monsters just as well as either Winchester.

And it's during this week that Dean finally realizes something as he's teaching Carl how to throw punches, he having to pull Rick aside a half hour later when Carl pleads for a break.

"Everything alright?" Rick asks, his hands immediately finding purchase on his hips in his oh-so-familiar Deputy stance.

"No," Dean shakes his head. Sipping some water, the Hunter then gestures over to where Carl's poking at his giggling sister. "I don't think Carl should join the big fight. I don't feel right draggin' the kid into this."

"He's volunteered," Rick tries defending his son. "He knows what he's getting himself into."

"I get that, I do, but.. well, someone has to stay with Judith. If I don't feel comfortable with Carl joining us, we're definitely not dragging a baby with us to battle and everyone else is better trained than your son currently is."

Rick frowns as his gaze darts from Dean to his son, the Deputy eventually sighing in defeat. He's noticed that while Carl was a decent shot, he wasn't picking up as quickly as he needed to for hand-to-hand combat both with and without his angel blade. And considering the fight they're headed into, Dean needs the best of everyone and Carl just isn't cutting it.

"He's gonna be pissed," Rick finally mutters. "You don't want him to go, you tell him."

"No problem. I just needed you in the know so when he gets angry, you don't get pissed with me for making him angry." Rick nods in understanding and then Dean's hollering for Carl to join them. Once the kid's standing before him, Dean sighs. "Got some bad news, little Grimes."

Carl tenses at his words and glances at his Dad who's now shifting from foot to foot. Then letting out a sigh of his own, his shoulders slump. "I figured this would happen."

"We really can use all the capable hands available but you're not ready," Dean tells him. "That and we need someone to stay with Judith here in the bunker since we can't exactly take her to big showdown."

"Can't someone else stay with her?" He tries to come up with excuses so he can go. "Gabriel's not exactly in any shape to fight either. I'm actually better than he is," Carl then huffs.

"The Padre is skittish," Dean muses. "-but would you really want to leave your little sister with him? I get he's a Man of the Cloth but something is just not right about him."

All three then turn to the man in question, they watching as Father Gabriel refuses to lunge at Castiel with an angel blade. And when Castiel sends Father Gabriel to stand aside while Beth steps in to go against Cas, Father Gabriel grumbles and stares rather intensely at the rest of their group.

"Right," Carl sighs. Then looking up at Dean, he grins as if he knows something Dean doesn't. "I'll stay quietly on  _one condition_."

Rick's interest is piqued and Dean's own hands find purchase on his hips, he copying Rick's stance. "Name it."

"If we win and we get to live happily ever after, I get one of those motorcycles in the garage when I'm older."

Dean rolls his eyes and Rick snorts. "Deal." Carl starts to get excited but Dean's next words have him faltering. "You just have talk it out with Dixon. There's three bikes down there and Sam's already given Dixon claim to one of them."

Even though Daryl's very much part of the group, the guy's still pretty intimidating when he wants to be and Dean knows it. Especially when it comes to weapons and rides. And  _when_ they win this fight- not  _if-_ it's going to be interesting to see Dixon's fierceness if he and Carl end up wanting the same motorcycle.

Fairly amused, Dean pats Carl on the head on takes his leave. Now he can rest easier knowing that the kid won't be on the battlefield.

**xXx**

When Michonne and the others find their way back to the bunker before sunset with blank expressions, Dean knows they didn't luck out this time around. Michonne catches his gaze and gestures for him to come closer. He meets her at the bottom of the stairs, and smirks.

"Hey, Mitch, what's going on?"

The dark skinned woman's lips twitch at the nickname. "We've got a problem."

"What is it?"

"Walkers have started to find their way down this way. We took care of the problem but.."

"But you're afraid more and more will come."

"Exactly. We can't afford a horde of them making their way here."

"I know." Dean frowns and pinches the bridge of his nose, he eventually sighing and nodding. "Okay. We'll keep an eye on the situation while you guys keep searching for what we need and if it becomes too much, we'll gank those sonuvabitches. It's the only thing we can do."

Michonne assesses him before agreeing, Dean then going back to smirking and telling her to go grab a shower because she's covered in god awful smelling croat blood.

* * *

Having found two vehicles and enough siphoned gas, the group is ready to leave for Texas. However, three days before they're set to leave, Michonne notices that even more walkers have found their way to the bunker and that they're lingering around instead just stumbling on by.

She alerts Dean and Rick, and since Cas has been spending the time he's not training anyone with Ariel and Ramiel, the two proclaimed leaders of the group seek out Beth.

"What do you think?" Dean asks Beth when they're standing just outside the bunker door. Rick and Daryl are on either side of them, Daryl firing off arrow after arrow at any walker who looks and stumbles their way.

"I- I don't know." Beth's brow is furrowed, her gaze darting from left to right as she steps further into the open. "There's.. something else is here. I can feel the wrongness of the walkers but.."

"Shit," Dean curses lowly.

Rick and Daryl tense at the curse, and Beth whirls around. "What is it?"

There's no answer right away but Dean's gaze is locked off to the far right where a small gathering of trees resides. "Beth," he then mutters. "-I'm gonna need you to angel up. Daryl, keep gankin' the croats, and Rick.. get inside and gather volunteers. No guns. We need machetes and Dead Man's blood. Go."

Rick doesn't waste a second before he's rushes inside and Daryl steps out further into the open, retrieving his arrows only to reload and step back beside Beth. "What the hell's goin' on, Winchester?"

"Vampires. They're either hungry and have been watching our group leave to and from the bunker, or someone's caught wind that we've teamed up with angels. No one likes it when Winchesters and angels are friends."

"I'm startin' to see that," Daryl grumbles.

Moments later, Sam, Rick, Michonne, Abraham, Sasha, Kevin, Tara, Glenn, and Noah exit the bunker with machetes gripped tight in hand. Sam starts handing out large syringes filled with a dark liquid and just as he's explaining what Dead Man's blood does to a vampire- it'll weaken them greatly to give you a chance to behead them- dark clouds seem roll across the sky and block out the sun.

"Great," Dean groans. A group of seven vampires step out from their hiding spot and everyone starts spreading out in preparation for a fight. "Daryl, you and Tara and Noah are on croat watch. Make sure nothing tries to take a bite out of us when our backs are turned."

"Done."

"Everyone else, you're on vampire duty."

"Anything we should worry about?" Abraham asks.

"Yeah. Don't get their blood in your mouth. You don't turn right away but you do feel the blood lust. Take it from a guy who's been one of them, it's not fun." Abraham whirls on Dean so fast, shocked etched into his features, but Dean merely shrugs with a grin. "There's a cure to vampir-ism but we don't have enough time to hunt down their master. If you get infected, you die."

The red headed man reluctantly tears his gaze from Dean and faces down the dirtied vampires fanning out near the trees. Their clothing is torn and bloodied- the blood stains having long turned brown- and they look gaunt as they size up what they're expecting to be their next meal.

A single creature steps forward on his own, he walking well ahead of his clan and hisses at the gathered group in front of the bunker. He gets close enough so that when his mouth opens in another hiss, his mouth full of sharp and elongated teeth can be seen.

"Well alright," Dean drawls. "Let's get this party started."

He moves to take a step forward but Beth reaches out and stops him. "No, no. Let me."

Turning to look at the blonde angel, Dean's eyebrows arch in surprise. Her arms are hanging limply at her side- not a weapon in sight- but she's shaking out her hands by rotating them at the wrists. And when she glances up at Dean, her lips curve slightly into a grin and her eyes glow a light luminescent blue.

"Are you sure, kid?"

"Mhm. What better way to test out what Castiel's been teaching me than right now?"

Dean stares at her until he gives her a reluctant nod and steps back. Glenn looks as if he wants to protest but he presses his lips tightly together and lets her walk. Daryl, Tara, and Noah finally break off from the group- the sound of arrows being released from Daryl's crossbow being heard as well as the sickening  _schtick!_ of machetes being used to penetrate and hack off skulls.

As Beth nears the one vampire, he shifts more and more and hisses angrily. But Beth does not fear him and easily closes the distance between them. The vampire then swings first but it's almost as if it's in slow motion and Beth leans back out of reach. However, it's his kick that catches her off guard and sends Beth falling to one knee when his foot connects with it with a sickening crunch. Her friends and family shout in fear as the vampire then jumps at her but she fends him off with one hand gripping his neck and the other pushing at his shoulder.

With teeth snapping inches from her face, Beth gathers her wits very quickly and wills her grace to manifest. Inch by inch, she slowly pushes the vampire back and stands on shaky legs. It hurts to put any type of of weight on her- no doubt- shattered knee cap but she manages just fine. With her grace buzzing and ready to let loose, Beth comes up with a sudden plan.

She grips the vampire tighter and conjures up the image of the space just a few feet behind her. But instead of dragging the vampire back, she flies them- disappears them, really _-_ just to disorient him. It apparently works- shocking both the vampire and her friends and family- and Beth manages to knock the vampire onto the ground with a few well placed kicks and punches. He struggles valiantly as he's knocked down so he's face first on the ground, but he's no match for an angel. And when Beth presses her palm down on the back of his head, she forces her grace out so it cleanses the  _wrongness_ she feels within the creature.

The vampire beneath her goes limp seconds later, and his friends snarl out angrily only to jump into action.

Beth takes on a second vampire that leaps at her, and Sam and Dean each take on a vampire of their own. There's three vampires left for six humans so the rest of the group team up to take on one vampire (Rick and Michonne, Abraham and Sasha, Kevin and Glenn).

The following ten minutes are a blur- the vampires having put up much more of a fight than anyone thought possible.

Abraham and Sasha, and Dean are the only ones able to empty a syringe of Dean Man's blood into their vampires before beheading them, and Beth smites yet another one. Glenn and Kevin lose track of their vampire and it isn't until Tara's bloodcurdling scream do they find where said vampire had gotten off to. As everyone freezes in shock, the two vampires that Rick and Michonne, and Sam were fighting make a hasty lunge for the distracted Glenn and Noah.

The group then jumps back into action at the two more bloodcurdling hollers, and eliminate the remaining threat. Sam jabs a syringe of Dead Man's blood into the neck of the vampire attacking Noah while Rick does the same to the vampire attacking Tara. Beth had yelled in rage before disappearing and then reappearing at Glenn's side, she telling him to clamp his eyes shut before smiting the vampire that was still attached to her  _brother's_ neck.

When he hears panting and angry huffing, Glenn cracks open an eye when the coast is clear and stares wide-eyed at Beth. He stumbles back in shock as the vampire goes limp against him, and clamps a hand over the throbbing wound on his neck. Then glancing around, he notices Tara and Noah slightly freaking out as the rest of the group check over their neck wounds as well.

Beth frowns at him then and steps forward before pressing two fingers to his forehead. Feeling a sense of calm and cool rushing through him, Glenn blinks and then presses harder into where his wound is. Correction-  _was._

"What did you do?" He breathes in awe, feeling the slick skin but not feeling any roughly torn flesh.

"I healed you. We all need to be in tip-top health for when we face Lucifer."

Her voice is eerily calm and vacant, and she turns on her heel only to limp towards Noah and Tara. With them freaking out and wondering if they're going to turn now, she wordlessly heals the both of them and then heads for the bunker door.

"Well, that was refreshing," Dean chuckles loudly to break the lingering tension. Then glancing at the three who were bitten, he smirks. "You're good; don't worry. A bite from a vampire won't do anything and Beth's healed you so that should soothe your worry."

It does, apparently, and then the rest of the bloodied and exhausted group seem to sag in relief. There are still a few walkers/croats lingering about and making their way towards the group, so Rick instructs everyone to head inside just as Dean assures them he'll get Cas to take care of the remaining threats.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> **First of all, I'd like to address my vampire problem. I couldn't remember if the vampires in Supernatural couldn't walk in the sun or if they would just get weak..? So I made it so that these vampires were desperate enough for food and with a heavy overcast, it was easy for them to walk during the day. Good?**
> 
> **And wow. It's been a while since I've posted anything for this story. Sorry it took me so long but I am back :) Sadly, however, I looked over my outline for this fic and realized there's only TWO chapters left :O**
> 
> **I haven't started to write the next chapter so bear with me. I promise it won't take months to knock out like this chapter did XD**
> 
> **Up next.. the showdown with Lucifer.. and well, not everyone will make it out alive =/**


	14. Chapter 14

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> **Before you read, I must apologize in advance for my shitty action writing skills. Seriously, this chapter took me so long and I still find it such a disappointment. But if you stuck with me this far, then I leave you to it. Try and enjoy.. please!**

When the group had entered the bunker after their fight with the vampires- bloody, sweaty, and panting but relatively unscathed- Maggie immediately wanted to know what's wrong with her sister. Beth had apparently entered rather stoic-like, ignoring all the questions that were thrown at her, walked to her room, sat on the edge of the bed, and stared blankly at her bedroom wall.

Rick, Daryl, and Glenn had followed after Maggie and sure enough, Beth was sitting right where Maggie had said. No amount of questions or snapping of fingers could bring the angel from her daze and it was only when Dean poked his head into the room did everyone start easing off.

"She's still in angel mode," he told them. "Training's one thing but a real deal fight like what we went through.. she's still coming down from it. Especially after the close calls."

"Close calls? What close calls?!" Maggie had then whirled on Glenn.

And as Glenn explained what had happened, Rick and Daryl conversed more with Dean.

"You sure?" The archer grunted. "She didn't do this after the demon that one time."

Dean shrugs. "Different circumstances. She didn't know what she was doing then but now.. it's all under wraps. From all the angel whispering going on, Beth's not a normal angel. Let's just give her a moment and if she's still like this in an hour, we'll call in Cas."

But in the end, Cas didn't need to be called, and Beth had come out of her room only ten minutes later to heal up everyone else's minor scrapes and sure to be bruises. And then when Cas did finally return, he smited every single croat within miles of the bunker and then returned to heal up Beth's shattered knee.

* * *

Three days later after some rest and drilling the plan into everyone's head, the group heads out with only their weapons and the bare minimum of food. But not before Charlie rushes around looking for a binder- a binder which is then thrust into Carl's hands that tells him everything he needs to know about the bunker and how to operate certain machines should worse come to worse.

Every vehicle is equipped with CB radios so the group can keep in contact with one another, and then after splitting themselves up between four vehicles, the group is soon on their way to Texas.

Castiel flies ahead because he's not fond of cramped spaces so that leaves the Winchesters plus Beth and Daryl to ride in the Impala. Rick, Michonne, and Carol follow behind in the truck with Abraham and Sasha in the bed because they needed the space, and to be able to stand and keep a lookout. Maggie, Glenn, Noah, and Tara follow in the car behind them. And Rosita brings up the rear with Eugene and Father Gabriel.

Beth gives Dean directions the entire way- with Castiel popping in here and there, and scaring the living hell out of Daryl the first few times- and they only have to make a couple detours when hordes of the infected are blocking their way.

And when they finally get to Texas and take to the dirt roads to get to the Ranch, they're surprised at how secluded the place is. The property itself has barbed wire fences around it, and winding roads that lead further back into a wooded area. There's one house near the main road but Beth points them down yet another road that leads further back from what would have been prying eyes. There's a small cemetery to the left of the road that looks as if it houses less than fifteen headstones and is surrounded by a knee-high wooden fence, and a little further up the road and to the right is a small run-down home where they find Castiel waiting atop a concrete porch.

Not waiting for Dean to pull up and park, Beth takes a breath before blinking and suddenly finds herself standing next to Castiel. She sees Sam blink in surprise at her sudden appearance outside of the Impala before offering her a small grin, and then she glances up at Castiel only to find him grinning at her as well.

"That seems easier for you now."

She shrugs. "It is."

"Good. I've sent Joshua and Lucy back to Ariel so they can send Mika ahead to Lucifer and await your call. It's best if everyone gets into position now."

Beth nods as she absentmindedly rubs at the triskele near her wrist, and frowns. "Are you sure we're doing the right thing in sending Mika to Lucifer?"

"It's the only plan we had," Castiel murmurs. "It will work. Do no fret, sister."

She offers him a grim smile just as the vehicles linger in front of the home, Castiel then directing the drivers around to the back of the home where there's a shed in the back that will disguise their vehicles as well as a second exit off the property should things turn south. Everyone remains in the vehicles to see just where they're going because if things do not go their way, they need to know where they're going and get away as fast as possible.

Within minutes, everyone's gathered back out front of the little rundown home- both angels remaining atop the porch.

"Mika has been sent on his way," Castiel informs them all. "It'd be best for everyone to take their position now."

No one questions the angel and all follow after Castiel and Beth as they set off towards the small cemetery. There's a rusted over bench towards the back that sits next to one of the cleaner headstones and Sam reluctantly takes a seat. Dean then gestures towards the coincidentally well placed wooded area directly behind Sam, and everyone hides within the trees.

As everyone settles within the trees and hide behind tall brush, they start holstering guns and gripping their blades in hand as Charlie goes about pulling a spool of wire from the knapsack hanging from her shoulder. No one says anything as she goes about tying one end around one of the trees and then looping it around the trees plus their group, and then cutting it before tying it off around the same tree she started off on.

"What are you doing?" Dean's curiosity finally wins out.

"Well, you didn't exactly think the devil wouldn't notice us here behind some brush, did you?" At Charlie's quirked eyebrow, Dean frowns and grumbles, and Charlie grins. "You don't have to sell your soul to learn some magic."

"Magic?" Dean groans. "Charlie, what did you do?!"

Her eyes widen at Dean's tone and gulps under everyone's stare. "N-nothing bad. I promise! I just- well, tell Sam to turn around."

"What?"

"Just do it!"

Dean sighs but does as he's told and calls out to Sam. "Heya, Sammy!"

The younger Winchester turns around at the sound of his brother's voice only to do a double take and then let his gaze wander from the far left to the far right. "Uh, Dean?"

Dean then whirls on Charlie and the red head smirks. "It's a concealment spell. No one will be able to sense us as long as we remain inside the wire."

"Dean!"

"Nice work, Charlie," Castiel beams at her just as Dean rolls his eyes with a huff and then ducks under the wire to gain his brother's attention.

"Don't worry about it, Sammy. Charlie just dabbled in some non-demonic magic and forgot to tell us. We'll just- we'll be right behind you under a concealment spell."

Sam gives Dean a thumbs up before turning back around, and Dean ducks back under the wire to stand with the rest of the group.

"How long we waitin'?" Daryl wonders.

Beth glances over her shoulder at him, tapping the tip of her blade against her leg. "Not long. They're on their way."

**xXx**

Twelve minutes is all it takes.

Twelve minutes of just standing around before both Beth and Castiel straighten up and go on immediate alert.

"Beth-"

Her hand raises instantly, shushing Rick who's wondering what's going on. From the field just to the right of the rundown home, men and women are striding out of the dead corn stalks- oddly dressed in immaculate black suits and sneering at their surroundings.

"Why are they dressed like that?" Glenn mutters.

"S'how they impress Daddy," Dean quietly answers.

"Why so many?"

"Sacrifices is my guess," Dean then shrugs. "In order for the vessel to contain all of Lucifer's demonic energy, the vessel needs to gorge on gallons of demon blood."

Someone groans in disgust at the back of the group and Charlie kicks out at Dean's leg. "Will you shutup?! They're gonna hear us."

Sam suddenly takes a stand, and the men and women seem to zero in on him. At least thirty demons have assembled, all rather looking very  _hungrily_ at the sight of one Sam Winchester.

"Where's the devil?" Maggie quietly mumbles.

"I.. don't know," Castiel frowns.

Dean shifts uncomfortably, he glancing at Beth and Castiel before looking back out at his brother all on his lonesome. And the closer they get to the little cemetery- the more it seems the demons close in together. Sam shifts nervously and when they're close enough so that Dean's able to see the tell-tale black eyes, the older Winchester grunts, "Screw this."

Only a handful of demons enter the cemetery at the same time Dean ducks under the wire. And at the sight of Dean Winchester appearing from thin air, the demons freeze and glare at the brothers.

"What is this?" One of the black-eyed demons hisses.

The rest of the demons that had stopped outside the cemetery now think it best to stand with their brothers and sisters, and the Winchesters are left staring down numerous black-eyed stares.

"You didn't think Sammy would actually say  _yes_ to your prick of a Dad, did you? No," Dean scoffs. "You're all fugly morons if you really thought that."

A female demon bares her teeth at him. "It does not matter. When Lucifer shows up, you'll be of no threat to him." She glances over her shoulder and nods at the other demons behind her.

And when other demons start in Dean and Sam's direction, Dean laughs. "You honestly believe we came all this way without backup?" He whistles sharply and the demons tense once more.

One by one, the group duck down under the wire until it's just Castiel and Beth left hidden. "Go," she tells him. "I'll be out in a minute."

Beth lingers back and rolls her shoulders as she watches her friends and family take their place on either side of Sam and Dean. Her grace is buzzing like crazy within her very being with all the demons present, and she knows the worse has yet to come. The triskele sigil on her wrist burns suddenly, and something in the back of her mind whispers that it needs blood to activate it. So gripping her blade in hand, Beth shakily brings it up and slices her other palm open before fisting her hand and ducking beneath the wire.

And when Beth's presence is realized, the strangest thing happens.

The demons turn nervous at the sight of her and take a step back while glancing back and forth at one another.

"Well would you look at that," Dean muses. "They're scared of little 'ol Greene."

Beth glances up at Dean and offers him a small grin but then the overwhelming sense of  _danger_ is like a swift punch to the gut. She sucks in a sharp breath and her eyes widen, and when she chances a look at Castiel, she knows something's up by his too tense posture.

"Wha-"

"He's here," she breathes out and subconsciously takes a step back only to bump into Daryl.

The demons all freeze and their heads snap up, the group of them then parting down the middle as a lone man struts forward. He seems normal- from his brown dusty boots to his snugly fitted jeans and to his plain dark green shirt sitting beneath an unbuttoned plaid shirt- and the only thing that gives this man away as something  _other_  is his rotting face which he's completely unfazed by.

"How precious," the devil grins. "You came equipped with a small army and for what? To end me," he chuckles. "You know better, Sammy."

"Yeah, well, the endgame's different this time."

"We were given a chance to right things and well, you know us Winchesters," Dean smirks. "We're do-gooders."

"Are you now? I wouldn't have guessed." Lucifer's gaze slides from one face to the next, and Father Gabriel's the only one to whimper but stands his ground when Michonne squeezes his arm. And when he finally sets his gaze upon Beth, he grins once more. "Sister."

Beth's eyes narrow. "I'm not your sister."

"Are you not?" He steps forward with a bounce in his step. "We are created by the same God, young one."

She sneers and shifts from foot to foot, gripping her blade tight in hand and moving her other fist just behind her leg so no one from the opposite side of the cemetery sees the blood dripping from her cut. She can feel Castiel's grace swelling and swelling, and begging for release and Lucifer's gaze finally shifts to him.

"Ah, Castiel," he muses. "So glad to see you've found your grace."

"Lucifer, this stops today."

"But it just got interesting," he pouts, childishly stomping his foot. With a snap of his fingers, at least twenty more people appear from thin air- each and every one of these new females and males gripping their very own shiny angel blades in hand. As the Winchesters dart a glance at Castiel and Beth, Lucifer chuckles. "Uh oh. Looks like I've got few angels sitting on my shoulder as well.

"I don't want to kill you, brother. Sister," he looks between Castiel and Beth. "But if you stand in my way as Gabriel once did, I will strike you down and take the vessel that is rightfully mine."

"Screw you,  _Luci,_ " Dean snarls.

"Better yet," the Devil completely ignores the elder Winchester. "Why don't you join me, brother and sister? After all, these little hairless apes will not be leaving this cemetery with a beating heart." The tension between the group is at an all time high and the longer Lucifer stalls, the more nervous everyone gets. Movement on Dean's part catches Beth's attention, and she watches as his hand slowly inches into his coat's pocket and starts fumbling about in it. "Do you know why God cast me down? Because I loved him. More than anything."

"Oh, save us the sob story," Dean huffs. "We've already heard it once." Lucifer's easy gaze turns hard and cold, and Dean smirks in triumph. "Are we gonna do this or are you gonna talk us into a coma?"

"Last chance, Winchester. Give me my vessel and I'll make sure you and your pathetic gathering stay free of infection."

Dean hums, lips pouting as he taps a finger to his bottom lip. "Hmm, nah." Then ripping his hand free from his coat pocket, he tosses the linked Horsemen's rings to the far right of the gathering while shouting, "Beth, now!"

As everyone's distracted by the opening of a swirling vortex in the ground, Beth releases her bloody fist before slamming said bloody palm onto the stinging triskele on her wrist. It burns even more at contact and the back of her palm even glows a little. For a moment, there's absolutely nothing and then energy seems to pulsate- the source coming from within her- and in between one blink and the next, she can feel the presence of numerous angels at her back.

The murderous stare Lucifer pins her side with is proof enough that Ariel and Ramiel showed up with  _everyone._

"Bring me my vessel," Lucifer then growls. "Kill the rest."

The demons and rogue angels rush at them, shouting out their war cries. Beth doesn't have a chance to glance at her sister to make sure she's ready, and immediately raises her angel blade to block the attack of a fellow angel. She blocks every stab attempt towards her but she's not as quick to dodge the tip of the blade.

An angel blade nicks her cheek but she pushes through the pain in order to gain the upper hand. She grips the angel's wrist with her free hand, pulling him down just enough so she can knee him in the face. And when he grunts in pain and is distracted just so, Beth shoves her own angel blade up from beneath his chin and into his head. Once his mouth opens wide, and his mouth and eyes flash a bright white before dying out, Beth lets her supposed  _brother_ fall to the ground dead where black ashy wings appear beneath him.

There's shouting and cries of pain, but Beth can't lose focus or be distracted so she doesn't know whose cries of pain it is that she's hearing.

A black eyed female catches sight of Beth, she pulling a fist back and swinging at Beth's head. She catches the blonde angel in the opposite cheek that's free of a cut, but Beth merely stumbles and kicks out. She catches the demon in the knee, the following  _crack!_ sending the demon down to her opposite knee and in the perfect position for Beth to smite the demon dead.

As Beth glances around quickly for her next target, she spots Lucifer simply waving his hand and sending Castiel flying back. The trench coat wearing angel knocks into Dean and Rick, but the threesome is quick to scramble to their feet to continue fighting. Rage then burning through her veins, Beth's attention zeroes in on Lucifer.

She starts marching in his direction, ignoring the threats all around her. A lone demon sets his sights on Beth but she merely ignores him, and manages to duck his attack while simultaneously letting her palm connect to his face and smiting him then and there. And as soon as that demon drops, it's Lucifer's turn to zero in on her and he smiles wide at her approach.

An angel and demon- the two working side by side- stand before Lucifer and then stride towards Beth to stall her approach. She feels a sudden presence at her side and when she chances a brief glance, Maggie winks down at her before looking back at the threat. The elder Greene takes on the demon and Beth takes the angel- the Greene sisters working side by side and taking hits as well as giving them.

Bloodied and most likely bruised, the Greene sisters come out victorious once they're back to back and drive their angel blades into their respective enemy.

Panting and wiping blood from her brow, Beth yanks her blade from the dead angel and turns her attention back to Lucifer. He's still grinning- still too smug about it all- and Beth nearly snarls in rage. Dull blue eyes then glow an eerie white, and she straightens up before marching towards him once more.

This time she reaches him without any obstacles, but as she raises her hand that's gripping her angel blade, Lucifer sends it flying with a simple flick of his wrist. However, the missing blade doesn't deter Beth and she clenches her fists tightly while throwing punch after punch. Her valiant effort into pummeling devil merely amuses him and as Beth's distracted by trying to land a blow, she doesn't realize that Lucifer's leading her closer and closer to the his cage's door.

"You honestly think you can defeat me?" He laughs as he keeps nudging her back. "You? You're a baby, sweet little sister. You have no chance."

Beth grunts and takes a breath before thinking of her next move, her hands flying to her back where a plain dagger was slipped into the waist band of her jeans. She grips the handle tight in hand and swings her arm forward but again, Lucifer catches her wrist. This time, he bends her wrist until Beth grunts in agony and drops the blade, and then he turns her rather quickly so her back is braced against his chest. With one hand gripping her wrist he braces his free forearm against her neck.

She struggles against his hold, but Lucifer's just too strong. "Watch them," he murmurs next to her ear. "Watch them as they fall one by one."

"No."

" _Yes._ "

The tide of the fight seems to turn in Lucifer's favor- his demons and rogue angels doubling their effort to win with a vengeance. Poor Eugene stumbles back as three demons converge on him and he swings blindly with his blade only for Beth's stomach to drop. Face crumpling in worry and then horror, she claws uselessly at Lucifer's forearm and watches on helplessly as a demon drives it's own weapon deep into Eugene's gut.

"Eugene!"

"That little chubby man had no chance."

"Stop- stop this," Beth pleads.

"Not until Sam says  _yes._ " Beth manages to twist at her waist, angling her body to the side as she drives an elbow into Lucifer's gut. The devil grunts and loosens his hold but just as Beth thinks she's going to get away, Lucifer grips her by the ponytail. "You think yourself so clever. Little sister, not even two months old, and you think you can defeat me?" The devil chuckles and pulls Beth back towards him. "Now watch as your loved ones fall one by one."

Beth whimpers, her gaze frantically darting back and forth over those on her side. Everyone's tiring- except for the angels- and they're definitely bloodied.

The agonized shout of, " _Charlie!_ ", seems to freeze Beth's insides. She searches for the usual perky redhead and her knees nearly buckle at the sight of her friend staring wide-eyed, her hand clamped around the front of her neck where blood's gushing through her fingers.

"No!"

Rage burns within the younger angel and just when Lucifer leans down to mutter into her ear once more, Beth uses all her strength to throw her head back and headbutt the devil in the face. He grunts in pain this time, his hold loosening on her. And when Beth turns around, pulling out yet another dagger from within her boot during the devil's distraction, she lunges at him once more.

With her rage at it's high and her grace glowing brighter and brighter, Beth's able to let out her aggression on him.

Lucifer finds amusement in his little sister's rage, he taking hit after hit with a smug little grin until he doesn't find it funny anymore. One slice from her small dagger slices a little too deep for his liking against his cheek and he snarls before catching her by the throat. Eyes widening in shock, the dagger slips from Beth's hand and her hands fly to his that's gripping her by the throat. He grips her tight and lifts, and Beth's feet dangle as she struggles to find purchase. She feels her legs sway as if something's pulling her and sure enough, when she glances down, she finds the swirling vortex of Lucifer's cage door just a mere foot away from them.

"You meant this cage for me," he sneers. "-but the thing is, the door will close if  _anyone_ is dropped in. Tell me, sister, do you want live a lifetime in Hell? Maybe you experiencing what I did will make you see things from my perspective."

"D-don't."

Lucifer takes another step closer to the swirling vortex, aiming to dangle Beth over the cage door.

"Beth!"

She can't turn to see who has yelled her name but the whistling of an arrow flying through the air only to pierce Lucifer's wrist seconds later lets her know exactly who it is. The devil growls in pain, dropping Beth just on the edge of the cage door. One moment she's watching Lucifer turn to face down the one who dared shoot him and the next, she's watching in horror as Daryl  _tackles_ Lucifer over the edge and into the vortex.

"Daryl!" Despite the pain in her throat and the pain blooming all over her body, Beth lunges forward on her knees and reaches down into the cage door only to catch Daryl's forearm- he somehow having managed to turn at the last second. "Don't let go."

Daryl's staring wide-eyed back at her, one hand gripping her while his other grasps for purchase along the cemetery ground. His legs dangle into the vortex, the cage door trying to suck him in as well but with Lucifer finally out of sight, the cage door is starting to close in.

"Beth," Daryl grunts, acceptance in his eyes. "-you have to let me go."

"No. I'm not letting you drop into Hell. Lucifer will torture you for eternity."

"Let me go, Beth."

She's struggling to keep a hold of him, eyes watering, and tries to lift Daryl only to find that she can't. On one hand, if she doesn't let go, she gets sucked in, too. But on the other, if she lets go, she'll be losing someone she cares about and it'll be all her fault.

Heart hammering the smaller the vortex gets, Beth's mind immediately thinks up the only possibility she has to make sure the both of them survive.

"Beth-"

"Hang on," she grits out through clenched teeth.

Daryl looks skeptical but after seeing the determination in her eyes, he nods in understanding. The vortex is about to swallow them whole and Beth finally does the only thing she can do. She thinks of  _home_ and blinks her eyes closed while gripping as tightly as possible to Daryl.

**xXx**

Carl's bouncing a wailing Judith on his hip, trying to shush her while also trying to read the binder that Charlie had left behind for him. Alarms are blaring throughout the bunker- have been for the past twenty minutes- and lights are flashing that he has no idea how to shut down.

The sounds are starting to grate on his nerves but he knows he has to keep his cool. One second he can't hear himself think and the next, the entire bunker goes silent and dark before the generators are rebooting quietly. Judith is still wailing but the bunker is as calm as can be. At least until there's a definite ruckus from the other room.

Heart practically jumping into his throat at the sound of wood groaning and cracking beneath a great amount of weight, Carl holds Judith closer to him and rushes into the room where everyone eats and reads. He's not sure what he's expecting but the sight of a bloodied Daryl and Beth- the younger girl laying haphazardly atop of the archer's chest- is not it.

Both are panting and moaning in pain, and Beth finally rolls off of Daryl and the table only to stand shakily on two legs. Wheezing, Daryl does the same and casts his gaze around the room.

"What the hell's going on?!" Carl shouts.

Daryl stares at Rick's son in a daze before he looks to Beth, his face twisting in a grimace as he gets his bearings.

"I'm sorry," Beth nudges him. "Flying's not exactly comfortable." As Daryl grunts, she looks up to a startled Carl while blindly reaching for and then latching onto Daryl's wrist. "We need to get back. It's over. We'll be home soon."

And then with a conjured up image of the cemetery and ranch in mind, Beth blinks and whisks herself along with Daryl back their friends and family.

**xXx**

When Beth and Daryl land back at the cemetery, Daryl stumbles away and collapses to his knees. He dry heaves at the sensation of flying not once but twice all in the span of not even a whole minute. There's a moment where Beth thinks about comforting her friend but the lingering demons still attacking have her attention. The demons are putting up a valiant effort to finish what their Father started but with a sharp whistle from Beth and the shout of, "Cover your eyes!", the humans all drop into a fetal position and do as they're told.

Rage taking over once more, Beth lets her grace loose. A white hot sensation envelops her and her vision whites out momentarily just long enough to hear the start of agonized screaming before dying out. And when her vision clears, Beth realizes all demons are smited and the remaining angels are staring at her in awe.

She knows there should be cheering now; Lucifer's gone and they've won, but everyone's quiet and then the uncontrollable and heart shattering sobs steals her attention.

And that- that sounds  _wrong_.

Lucifer's in his cage where he's supposed to be; it's over. But instead of cheers or joyful congratulations, there's uncontrollable sobbing and Beth's stomach twists with dread. Her gaze then falls to the strangers that have been slain there in the cemetery and it isn't long until her gaze lands on both Eugene and Charlie.

She frowns at the sight of them- at the sight of Dean looking crestfallen as his own gaze lands on the familiar redhead. But then Sam's kneeling somewhere else- his chin tucked in close to his chest while his shoulders shake with what Beth guesses are his own quiet sobs- and it's then she notices another face among the fallen. Kevin.

Feeling like her chest is now constricting because the sudden realization that not all of them made it out alive has finally hit her, Beth frantically searches for her sister.

She finds Noah kneeling next to a too still Father Gabriel and gently closing the man's eyes, Abraham's tiredly running a hand over his bloodied face before crouching down and falling to his butt while staring sadly at a non-moving Rosita, and Tara's crouched behind a seated Glenn- both of whom who are sobbing the loudest- as Glenn cradles her-

"No," Beth mutters, her breath leaving her in one fell swoop. Tears immediately springing to her eyes, and Beth rushes forward and falls to hands and knees as she crawls the rest of the way forward. "Maggie?"

Glenn seems to cradle Maggie closer when he notices Beth, eyes rimmed red as tears run down his cheek. "I'm sor- I didn't see- She won't wake up."

Beth's face crumples as she tries to fight down the swelling emotion within her, and she reaches hesitantly for her too pale sister. "Maggie.. please. Wake up."

There's not a peep or a single movement from her elder sister and like a dam breaking, the wall that had been keeping her human emotions in check finally crumbles. Beth's own sobs mingle in with Glenn's and not even the comforting hand on her back or Daryl's attempt at a soothing voice is enough to comfort the blonde angel.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> **-cringes away from all the hateful stares- I'm sorry. I'm sorry!**
> 
>  
> 
> **Only one more chapter to go.**
> 
>  
> 
> **Btw, did anyone see 'The Walking Dead' yesterday? Carol- motherfuckin'- Peletier, y'all. That's all I'm gonna say. Come fangirl with me on tumblr (thatpunkmaximoff).**


	15. Chapter 15

Beth's sitting in the middle of the cemetery, Maggie's head cradled in her lap while the bodies of her friends lay next to her. Castiel and the rest of the angels have congregated to one side while Dean and Sam took the rest of their group aside and spoke to them of a Hunter's funeral, and how it's better their way because though the infected and virus is gone, the rest of the monsters aren't. Glenn hadn't been too comfortable with burning Maggie's body but after finding out that other monsters could use her face to manipulate them later on the down the road, he found that a Hunter's funeral was the best bet for her to rest peacefully.

And just as Dean voices the suggestion that they start collecting wood for the fires, every angel seems to freeze and angle their heads upward towards the sky- Beth included.

_It's time to come home, my children, but first you have one last mission._

Beth shivers at the voice in her head and tries to shake off the uneasy feeling.

"Beth?" Daryl grunts. "You okay?"

_Find every last human being and show them it's time for a new beginning. Go._

"No," Beth murmurs quietly, eyes watering all over again. It appears that after her breakdown, human emotion is coming far too easy to display once more. "I can't leave her," she breathes shakily to the sky. "I won't."

All the angels startle at Beth's words, their attention then seeking out their grieving sister. Castiel steps towards her, clearing his throat before squatting down to be at eye level with her. "Stay," he tells her. "One angel won't make that much of a difference. I'll be back."

Beth gives Castiel a tight smile in thanks, she watching as Castiel stands and makes his way back to the other angels- Ramiel now looking every bit in charge seeing as Ariel didn't make it out of the fight. Every single one of them are staring right back at her, they nodding once before all disappearing in a flutter of wings.

"What was that all about?" Dean huffs.

"Nothing," the blonde shakes her head. Glancing back down at Maggie, she runs her fingers along her sister's hair. "We were being called back," she then gestures with one hand towards the sky. "All angels were to seek out every living human being and give them their choice. I couldn't- I cant leave my sister."

There's a moment of silence and then, "Come on," the elder Winchester sighs. "We need to start prepping the bodies."

Beth has to swallow around the lump of emotion that suddenly lodged itself in her throat, she sniffling and nodding and shifting around so she can stand up. But just as she gets to her knees, the flutter of wings has her looking to the side where Castiel's standing and beaming down at her.

"Castiel? What are you doing back so soon?"

"I spoke to God," he tells her. "I pled for their souls."

"..what?"

Eugene, Kevin, Charlie, Rosita, and Maggie all gasp awake, the lot of them jerking into an upright position. There are shouts of surprise and elation but Beth, Dean, and Sam stare at Castiel warily.

"What did you do?" the younger Winchester wonders.

Brow furrowing, Castiel's smile vanishes. "They fought for the greater good of this world. It didn't seem fair that they wouldn't see it."

"So you pled for their souls?!" Dean scoffs.

"Yes."

"Thank you." All eyes turn to Beth, she throwing herself at Castiel and hugging him tightly. Slowly but surely, the elder angel brings his arms around her to return the embrace.

"That's nice and all," Dean's deadpan brings them out of their moment. "-but what about the padre? Why isn't he waking up?"

"They were given a choice," Cas admits. "To come back or live in peace. Father Gabriel found his peace and decided to stay there."

Glenn's sobbing once more but this time, they're happy tears. Castiel's explanation is enough for Beth so her attention turns once more to her sister who's staring up at her with tears of her own in her eyes.

"I saw Daddy," Maggie smiles. "-and Momma. They're so happy, Beth."

"Did- did they say anything?"

As Beth kneels next to her sister who's cradled in Glenn's arms once more, Maggie's tearful gaze drops to her flat stomach and her hands come up to protectively shield it. "Just that they're proud.." She trails off as her little sister's gaze follows her hand's action, Beth's gaze questioning as her eyes dart back and forth between Maggie's stomach and Maggie's own gaze. Then as the puzzle pieces click together, Beth beams. "They also might have mentioned that since we've been through so much, I've been assured a smooth pregnancy."

Everyone within hearing distance freezes, Glenn pales, and Beth laughs.

**xXx**

Dean and Sam ended up taking the lead in getting Father Gabriel's corpse ready for a Hunter's funeral, and it was Dean that rummaged through the nearby rundown home to find a sheet that would be wrapped around Father Gabriel.

And after everyone said their peace and the fire was lit, it's Daryl that asks such a bizarre question and breaks everyone's calm bubble. "Not to scare anyone, but we didn't die, did we?" Everyone jerks their attention to the archer and he gulps as he gestures to everything around them. "I feel like m'havin' a bad acid trip or somethin'."

As everyone looks to see what he's talking about, they realize that the once dead grass around them is slowly turning a vibrant green. The trees around them are sprouting brand new leaves, the shrubbery is reviving right before their eyes, and the sounds of distant chirping birds can be heard.

"What the-"

In awe, they start stumbling down the private dirt road as fields of dead yellowed grass shift to an alive green. From between trees, a young buck and two does hesitantly appear long enough to catch attention before being startled and bounding back into the shadows.  _Mooing_ makes everyone freeze and then as they continue on down the road, they find a field littered with cattle as if they'd been there all along.

"So this is what He meant by being rewarded, huh?" Dean asks. Power poles surrounding them seem to buzz to life and Charlie nearly squeals. "Life will be easier," the elder Winchester then continues on. "-but I know next to nothing about raising cattle or slaughtering them for food."

"Well it's a good thing you have us," Maggie chirps. She slings an around her sister's shoulders, bringing her closer and grins over at Dean and now Rick who's looking at her in wonder. "We grew up on a farm. We know a thing or two and I'm pretty sure Daryl is a quick learner, right Dixon?"

"Hmm? Yeah," Daryl nods. "I can help out."

"Excellent," Charlie squeaks, nearly jumping from one foot to the other in her obvious glee. "With food taken care of and the power obviously coming back on," she gestures to the power poles around them. "-I can start rigging systems to they remain on and possibly get wi-fi up and running again. If there are any people out there like me, they'll be doing the same and we can start getting in contact with other survivors!"

"You can do that?" Rick actually looks stunned.

"Yep," Charlie smiles proudly. "We just gotta stop at every power grid on the way home so I can put some of my skills to use. I can actually get phones up and running if you give me a little extra time and we'll be good to go."

"Well, seeing as I'm no longer a deputy sheriff," Rick chuckles gruffly. "I think it's safe for me to say that I've never been more happy to have a hacker- or whatever you call yourself- on our side."

* * *

**Seven Months Later.**

True to Charlie's word, within a few months, she has power grids and telephone operation systems rigged for their endeavors. (Although, the power mysteriously turned  _off_  at what they eventually figured out was 10P and turned back  _on_ at 6:20A. It wasn't really that much of a bother seeing as the weather was absolutely perfect every single day, and it wasn't until Castiel mentioned that God was behind the mysterious power outages- because if the power ran indefinitely, it'd run out sooner rather than later and they needed to buy time until they could find someone to teach others how to run a power plant- did they let it go.) And though there were no threats of walkers or croats or any assholes that might jump her for whatever goods she has, Charlie still had to take a chaperone or two with her which is how she's gained yet another big brother type in Daryl and- surprisingly- Abraham.

No one understood why Charlie wanted the telephone's up and running so when she explained about automated phone systems and how she could get it to relay her own message to anyone who might pick up, Rick thought it a good idea so people could start building communities once more.  _However_ , they had to wait to rig up the phone systems in favor of cleaning out several homes and making them ready for inhabitants. And luckily for them, there had been a gated community not two miles from the Winchester's bunker.

Everyone worked together to make sure no one living was in the gated community so they didn't step on any toes, and after making the homes livable, Dean and Sam helped them ward each and every one of them against the demons and monsters that were still trying to thrive now that Lucifer was gone.

Dean and Sam obviously remained living in their bunker along with Daryl and Sasha who took really well to the life of supernatural Hunters, and Castiel who only popped in every now and then since Heaven apparently left their doors open. Rick, Michonne, Carl, and Judith took one home; Maggie, Glenn, and Beth another; Rosita and Abraham settled in right across the street; Tara, Charlie (she loved the Winchesters, really, but she needed out of that bunker), and Eugene got along splendidly so they didn't mind sharing; and Carol surprisingly took in Noah and Kevin.

Though the world was somewhat right once more and they didn't have too many threats to worry about, the group had been through too much to stray too far from one another. So, of course, they all lived in houses grouped together and made frequent trips to the Winchester's bunker because friendships forged while battling the devil were hard to forget. And living under the circumstances and conditions they had, it's not really a surprise that the Winchesters and the Atlanta group- plus the others- have become somewhat of a misfit family.

So after getting a hang of living in a world where they had to raise, breed, and kill animals for food- as well as scouring for fruit and other edible food- family dinner night became a regular thing.

* * *

Daryl's cleaning his crossbow when Beth pops into the bunker, he barely acknowledging the fact she's appeared from thin air. (Seriously, Castiel and Beth popping in and out got old very fast). And as Beth stands just a few feet away from him without speaking a word, he just sighs and places his crossbow atop the table before giving her his attention.

"What?"

"Sam wants you and Dean at Rick's already. They're about to start up the grill."

Daryl shrugs and starts cleaning off his hands on a nearby rag, but it's Dean who answers. "Alright, we're good to go," he loudly exclaims. He saunters into the main room, grinning and twirling a set of keys in hand.

"Nope," Beth grins right back. "Gas is a precious commodity now-a-days so I'm your ride over."

Now pouting, Dean pockets his keys. "Aw, man, I hate riding the angel express. I can never poop right afterwards." Daryl snorts and finally stands, he leaving his crossbow on the table as Dean closes the space between them to stand right next to Beth. Grumbling beneath his breath, the elder Winchester finally gets himself under control with a little sigh. "Alright, beam us up, Scotty."

Beth rolls her eyes though her lips twitch in amusement and waits for Daryl's approval. And when both men are ready, she takes yet another step closer to them and raises both hands- her middle middle fingers and index fingers pressed together- and touches their foreheads to whisk them away.

Between one blink and the next, the men find themselves suddenly standing out in the open in Rick's back yard where everyone has congregated to. The only one missing is Castiel but that's usual now-a-days as well.

Dean gives a quick grunt before stepping away, his eyes seeking out the one person who he absolutely adores more than his own brother at the current moment and makes a beeline for them. "There's the Momma Bear. Here you go, Mags, I got a present for baby Henry."

Maggie's sitting at a picnic table with Carol and Tara, the three ladies shucking corn and prepping them for the grill. Her sister is all smiles as she accepts a small silver necklace from Dean, and them promptly kisses the elder Winchester on the cheek which only makes him beam and then paw at Maggie's swollen belly.

"Think he's gonna be heartbroken if the rugrat's a girl?" Daryl huffs.

"Oh, most definitely," Beth laughs. After greeting the other two ladies at the table and taking in his fill of touching Maggie's stomach, Dean then takes off towards Carl, Sam, and Rick who are standing around their own rigged up BBQ pit and Dean easily slips Judith from Carl's hold while shooing off the teenager towards Noah and Glenn who are playing Horseshoes. "Well, not too heartbroken," the blonde angel grins. "For being a big bad Hunter, he sure does have a soft spot for kids."

Daryl snorts and then nudges Beth before departing, he heading over to their other friends.

"Hey, there you are," Charlie exclaims as she sidles up to Beth. "Have you heard from Castiel yet?"

Beth's brows furrow. "No. Why?"

"Got word he's found some people in California," the redhead shrugs. "Come on, lets go inform Dean and Rick."

As Beth and Charlie make their way towards the men grouped around the BBQ pit, Abraham meets them halfway with a pan of steaks and potatoes wrapped in foil. Judith laughs happily at the sight of Beth, the young angel smiling and taking the toddler from Dean's arms as Charlie explains what's going on.

"So there's a family of four and then a family of two who Castiel's found," Charlie says. "He's vetted them himself and told them of the community here since we're now ready to start growing."

"Did he tell 'em about how everyone has a job to maintain 'round here to keep us living?" Abraham huffs. "I'm all for bringing people in after being vetted but I ain't gonna be too happy if he brings in slackers."

"Already voiced that and Cas is all over it," Charlie grins. "Trust me, one of the girls in the group- after finding out we were building a community- asked if we had a shopping center. When he told her no, she gave the idea that they should collect as much clothes as possible to bring with them so we could have our own little mall of sorts when we need new clothes."

"Huh," Sam muses. "That's actually a pretty good idea."

"Right?! Anyway," Charlie plows on. "They're determined to drive so they should be here in a couple of days."

**xXx**

As the group settle down to eat their steaks, potatoes, and corn, Beth finds herself wandering over to the tree swing that Carl had set up for when Judith got older. Settling carefully on the wooden plank, she smiles happily at her family laughing and just being at ease.

She's slowly swinging back and forth as she lets her family's laughter wash over her when her vision suddenly tinges gray, and it feels like a veil has been dropped over her. Then sensing a presence at her back- a really strong one- Beth comes to an abrupt stop and turns to find a man leaning casually against the tree. He looks out of place in a dark mustard yellow corduroy jacket with a blue button down shirt beneath, and dark washed jeans sitting comfortably on his hips. His aura is strong, calm, and soothing so Beth does not feel at all threatened but something is telling her that she knows this man. Or at least.. she should.

He barely glances at her but Beth notices that he's watching her family with a fond smile. And then out of nowhere, the man's name flashes in her mind, but it couldn't be. Could it?

Breath shaky, Beth gulps before saying, "God?"

He smirks, his neatly trimmed brown beard hiding most of his smile but the crinkling of the corner of his eyes give away his amusement. "Actually, name's Chuck."

A deep blue gaze meets Beth's own and she can't help but feel intimidated and excited at the same time. "What are you doing down here?"

"Just visiting," Chuck continues to smile. "Glad to see the Winchesters found a family to surround themselves with."

"Y-you know them?"

"I did," he acknowledges. "-but they think I'm dead so I'd prefer it if you didn't let my name slip out around them."

"Okay."

Silence reigns for a brief moment and then Chuck's giving Beth his attention once more.

"So what do you plan to do now that everything and everyone is fine? All the angels are going-"

"Please don't make me go back," she blurts, eyes wide and pleading. "I- I know I'm an angel and my place is in Heaven but I can't leave my sister."

"Hey.. hey," he says soothingly. "No one is going to make you do anything you don't want to," Chuck then assures her. "Heaven is being.. run differently this time around. The Gates will remain open- given nothing or no one is threatening our Home- and the angels are free to come and go as they please. No one will be forced to love anyone else but the angels will be watched to make sure they're not outright cruel to others."

"So I can stay?"

"As long as you wish."

Jumping up from the swing, Beth lunges for Chuck and brings him into a hug. "Thank you."

He laughs happily and pats her on the back before deciding to step back. "You're truly one of my best creations, Beth Greene. Never change." And then with a wink and smile, Chuck vanishes before her eyes.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> **End.**
> 
> **I honestly had no idea where this was going to stop when I first started to writing so I'm sorry it ended very abruptly. And for those who are Supernatural fans, I could not resist putting Chuck in, haha :D For you Walking Dead fans, DID YOU SEE LAST NIGHT'S EPISODE?! I refuse to believe what happened actually happened. You know?**
> 
> **Lastly, I'd just like to thank all of you for sticking with this story and giving it a chance. Seriously, you guys are the best and it was you who left comments that pushed to me to continue writing when I didn't think anyone actually cared about this crossover. So thank you, thank you, thank you!**


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